Qualifier Janowicz downs Tipsarevic at BNP Paribas

Paris, France (4E Sports) – Qualifier Jerzy Janowicz continued his onslaught at the BNP Paribas Masters, beating eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic Friday to reach the semifinal round against Gilles Simon.

The 21-year-old Janowicz was leading, 3-6, 6-1, 4-1, when Tipsarevic was forced to retire due to illness.

“In the second and third set I just played the best tennis of my life,” said Janowicz, who became the first Polish to reach the semifinal of an ATP World Tour event.

“I didn’t know actually I can play that good. It’s really not easy for me to realize what is going on in my life right now. Right now I’m playing the best tennis of my life, and I hope tomorrow I can play even better,” he added.

Earlier, Janowicz stunned World No. 3 Andy Murray after beating Philipp Kohlschreiber and No. 13 seed Marin Cilic in qualifying and main round. He started the season ranked No. 221 and is expected to climb to around No. 39 next week.

Simon reached the semifinal round after beating fifth seed Tomas Berdych, 6-4, 6-4.

“I had good feelings today, and I made very few unforced errors,” said Simon. “So he had to do the work and fight a lot. I was very consistent during the whole match. I know when I play him that I have some weapons that can bother him, and I did well today.”

Meanwhile, fourth seed David Ferrer of Spain downed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-2, 7-5 to seal a semifinal clash Michael Llodra, who beat American Sam Querrey, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

On the women’s side, Nadia Petrova defeated Tsvetana Pironkova, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 Friday to complete the semifinal cast in the WTA Tournament of Champions.

With the victory, Petrova emerged No. 1 from Sredets Group and will battle Roberta Vinci of Serdika Group in the crossover semifinal for a spot in the championship round.

The loss dropped Pironkova to No. 2 and will face Serdika’s top seed Caroline Wozniacki for the other final berth.

“Roberta is one of those tricky players – she uses a one-handed backhand and uses a lot of slice, which is unusual for the women’s game and brings a lot of trouble for her opponents,” Petrova said of her match against Vinci.

For her part, the No. 11 Wozniacki will make a return to the Top 10 if she beats Pironkova.

“With each match I’m playing better and better, and I hope I can still keep improving tomorrow,” Pironkova said. “It is going to be tough against Caroline, but I think I’ll have my chances.”

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