Bangkok, Thailand – In a rarity on the ATP World Tour, all four top seeds secured berths in the semifinals at one event.
Big Czech Tomas Berdych, Richard Gasquet, Milos Raonic and Gilles Simon all moved into the final four at the Thailand Open tennis event on Friday.
The top-seeded Berdych swatted 20 aces in beating Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, while the other quarterfinals saw the second-seeded and reigning champion Gasquet overcome fifth-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, third-seeded Canadian slugger Milos Raonic douse sixth-seeded Spanish left- hander Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3, and fourth-seeded Gilles Simon outlast Dutchman Igor Sijsling 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Gasquet bested the 2009 Bangkok champion Simon in last year's all-French finale here.
Saturday's semis will pit the former Wimbledon runner-up Berdych against last week's Metz, France, champion Simon and the U.S. Open semifinalist Gasquet versus Raonic on the indoor hardcourts at Impact Arena. Berdych is 2-5 lifetime against the pesky Simon.
The 2013 Bangkok titlist will earn $102,450.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.