The 29-year-old Israeli, ranked No. 94 in the world, faced Benjamin Becker (66) in the semis early Sunday morning.
By ALLON SINAIIsraeli tennis star Dudi Sela(photo credit: REUTERS)
Dudi Sela reached his first ATP Tour semifinal in more than two years after continuing his impressive form in Atlanta with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 win over No. 4 seed Vasek Pospisil on Friday.The 29-year-old Israeli, ranked No. 94 in the world, faced Benjamin Becker (66) in the semis early Sunday morning, with the German beating Thiemo de Bakker 6-4, 6-2 in the last eight.The last time Sela advanced to a semifinal of an ATP Tour event was back in March 2012, with the Israeli’s one and only appearance in a final to date coming in Beijing in September 2008.Sela had gone more than five months without playing in the last eight of an ATP Tour tournament, before finding his form in recent weeks, also reaching the quarters in Newport earlier this month.John Isner and Jack Sock met in the first semifinal in Atlanta.Shahar Pe’er (90) was knocked out in the quarterfinals in Baku, Azerbaijan on Friday, losing 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to Stefanie Voegele (72).Pe’er, who was playing in her first WTA Tour quarterfinal since April, will lose precious ranking points after going all the way to the final in Baku last year.However, the Israeli can still leave Azerbaijan with a title after advancing to the final of the doubles tournament with Romanian partner Raluca Olaru. The Israeli/Romanian duo was leading Francesca Schiavone and Voegele 4-3 in the first set of the semis when the two retired.Pe’er and Olaru will face Alexandra Panova and Heather Watson in the final on Sunday morning.
