Barring the No. 4 seed Richard Gasquet, who was ousted by German Philipp Kohlschreiber, the quarter-finals went according to plan for the top seeds as they booked their designated places in the semi-finals of the Open Sud de France at Montpellier. The No. 1 seed Tomas Berdych didn't face much trouble in defeating the 'marathon man' Nicolas Mahut. Equally smooth was third seed and 2010 champion Gael Monfils' passage to the semis as he won his match against world No.50 Jarkko Nieminen in less than an hour. The second seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon though had to dig deep and eventually prevailed over 21 year old countryman Guillaume Rufin in three sets.
In what was easily the longest quarter-final, lasting 2 hours and 53 minutes, World No.12 Simon made his superior experience count against the youngest player left in the draw, ultimately winning 7-6(5) 6-7(2) 6-2.
ATP / WTA Tour

The accolades - be it the No.1 ranking in the WTA list released on Monday or the Order of the Motherland medallion from the government of Belarus - have just started pouring in for the 22-year old Victoria Azarenka. After all those years of near misses, of injury breakdowns and psychological blow-ups, her triumph at the 2012 Australian Open is a definite signal of the transformation of the temperamental girl into a mature lady.
In a refreshing change from the usual, it was youth which triumphed over experience in a battle of nerves. The young Victoria Azarenka recovered from a mid match slump to prevail over the Defending Champion Li Na in 3 sets in the final of the APIA Sydney International, heading into next week's Australian Open as a serious contender to challenge for the title.
Defending Champion and No. 4 seed Li Na, and the third seed Victoria Azarenka raised their games when it mattered the most to advance to the final of the APIA Sydney International on Thursday. Both the women’s singles semi-finals today not only went the full distance but even followed a similar pattern: the eventual winner losing the first set only to comeback all guns blazing in the next two to dispose off her opponent.








