Montpellier, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Towering Pole Jerzy Janowicz subdued second-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon in Friday's quarterfinal action at the Open Sud de France tennis event.
The fifth-seeded 6-foot-8 Janowicz reached his first ATP semifinal since last August by vanquishing the three-time Open Sud semifinalist Simon 6-2, 7-5 in 75 minutes at Montpellier Arena.
"Definitely I played my best match of the season," said Janowicz. "Today, I knew I had to play my best tennis because Gilles moves incredibly well on the court. He also reads the game so well and he's one of the best returners in the world. I knew I had to be focused on my serve all the time. I did that and I was playing aggressive throughout."
Janowicz' semifinal opponent on Saturday will be rising seventh-seeded Portuguese Joao Sousa, who upended third-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 on Day 5.
The 2015 Montpellier champion will earn $90,000.
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