Pole Positioned: Janowicz Reaches Paris Semis

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Pole Positioned: Janowicz Reaches Paris Semis

By Chris Oddo

(November 2, 2012)--Jerzy Janowicz notched his fourth consecutive top 20 win and became the first Polish player to ever reach a Masters 1000 semifinal when he took out Janko Tipsarevic on Friday, 3-6, 6-1, 4-1 (retired).

The 21-year-old responded after losing the first set to Tipsarevic by taking control of the match. He would not face another break point the rest of the way, and he played brilliantly in all facets of the game.

Janowicz broke Tipsarevic twice in the second set to level the match, then broke twice more in the decider without losing a single point on serve. With Janowicz serving at 4-1, Tipsarevic retired amidst a chorus of jeers from the Parisian faithful, many of whom were convinced that the Serb was not really injured--just defeated.

In spite of the anticlimactic finish, Janowicz has not trouble reveling in his surprising success in Paris. “Right now I’m playing the best tennis of my life and I hope tomorrow I can play even better,” he said.

The World No. 69, who has defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber, Marin Cilic, Andy Murray and Janko Tipsarevic in succession in Paris, will face Gilles Simon in the semifinals. He is expected to reach as high as No. 37 in the rankings, and could go higher if he reaches the final or wins the title.

Simon upset Tomas Berdych in straight sets on Friday, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the semifinals of his home ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.

Simon saved nine of ten break points against the World No. 6 and came break from a break down in the second set.

Michael Llodra became the second Frenchman to reach the semifinals when he defeated American Sam Querrey in straight sets, 7-6(4), 6-3, but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga failed to complete the French trifecta by falling to David Ferrer 6-2, 7-5.

Ferrer will continue his bid to win his first ATP Masters 1000 event when he faces Llodra in one of tomorrow’s semifinals. Ferrer owns a 2-0 career record against Llodra, having never lost a set to the Frenchman.

Janowicz and Simon will meet for the first time.

The event in Paris marks the first time that a player other than Federer, Djokovic, Nadal or Murray has not won a Masters 1000 event in 17 tournaments. Robin Soderling was the last player to achieve the feat when he won in Paris in 2010.

(Photo Credit: AP)