Brands shocks Monfils to meet Gasquet in last 4

By Sports Reporter/Doha

Top-seeded David Ferrer marched into the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open yesterday, dispatching Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-0.

Ferrer was never tested on serve and broke the Italian four times to move through in 62 minutes. The two were meeting for the first time.“Maybe yesterday was similar to tonight, and I played good,” said Ferrer. “In the second set, I played more aggressive with my game. It’s never easy to play [well] the first week of the season.”

Ferrer, ranked fifth in the ATP Rankings, is looking to become the first Spaniard to win the tournament. Last year, he enjoyed a career-best season, leading the ATP World Tour with seven titles and 76 match wins.

In the semi-finals Ferrer will take on former champion Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who defeated Simone Bolelli of Italy in the last quarter-final 6-1, 6-1. The Russian capitalised on all five of his break points and won 75 percent of his first serve return points to remain undefeated against Bolelli in their four meetings. “I have been in the semi-finals five times here now,” Davydenko pointed out. “I like it here and maybe this is my tournament.”

The 153th-ranked qualifier Daniel Brands of Germany reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final since October 2011 as he defeated France’s Gael Monfils 6-1, 7-5.  The German who had upset  fifth seed Jeremy Chardy in the first round, broke serve four times to knock out former World No 7 and last year’s runner-up Monfils in 63 minutes.

“If I have confidence and I feel good, then I can play like today,” Brands said. “I have to try to get into the top 100. That’s my goal and let’s see what happens,” said Brands after the match.

Brands will next face second-seeded Richard Gasquet of France, who defeated Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-1, 6-3.

The 10th-ranked Frenchman won 55 percent of his return points, breaking the Slovakian five times. Gasquet sealed the victory in 71 minutes to defeat Lacko for the second time. “I returned better and served better than yesterday. It’s a good match for me,” said Gasquet.

“I’m happy. I feel more confident than yesterday. It’s a good win for me.”

Monfils, who is making a comeback after injury-hit last year, looked certain to make it one set all against when he got within two points of that at 5-2, 30-love in the second set. But the hard-serving, German launched a series of winners, taking 20 of the next 23 points, making two breaks of serve in a row, and steam-rollering five successive games to snatch the victory.

Monfils was remarkably rational after so disorienting a setback. “My mistake was maybe I focused too much on returning serve first and then trying to catch his backhand,” he said. “Maybe I should have opened more on his forehand and then tried to get his backhand. “But it was tough because he does not give you a lot of rhythm. He just is going for every point, I would say, a winner.”

Monfils may also have been limited by having had only two previous matches here, whereas a confident Brands had had five - and even those two had been Monfils’ first in ten weeks.

He had also had a hard two-hour three-set victory yesterday over Phillip Kohlshreiber, the third-seeded German, which, so early in his comeback, may have taken a little from Monfils physically.

“It was tougher today because I felt a bit heavier, and, you know, it was my first tough match yesterday,” he agreed.

However Monfils claims his troublesome knee is now in good repair, which may mean this is still a useful start to the season. It also suggests the gifted and charismatic former world number seven retains realistic prospects of regaining his former status. As for Brands, conjecture is more imponderable. “I have to make the top hundred first,” he said, eyeing a foothold, free from the burden of qualifying competitions, on the ATP World Tour.

“But I had a good preparation for this season, so after that I can maybe make top 50, or even top 20 - who knows?”