Xavier Malisse defeated top seed Tomas Berdych to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington.
Baghdatis sees off Spaniard Verdasco to reach last four
Xavier Malisse upset top seed Tomas Berdych to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington.
Having already knocked out home favourite John Isner, the Belgian triumphed 6-4 3-6 6-2 after just over two hours on court in the opening quarter-final.
Marcos Baghdatis, who beat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, stands in the way of a first ATP Tour final appearance for Malisse since 2007.
"It just feels good to beat players like that. I played well consistently," world number 62 Malisse said afterwards.
"The third set is one of the best sets I've played. I hit the ball hard and won a lot of points with my serve."
Pushed hard
Playing in his first event since losing to Rafael Nadal in the final at Wimbledon, Berdych had already been pushed hard during the week.
The world number eight had needed three sets for a third successive match to see off Andrey Golubev late on Thursday night.
It seemed he had not fully recovered from his exhertions on Friday, as he lost his two of his opening three service games. In all he landed only 53 percent of his first serves.
However Malisse had also finished late on the previous day, upsetting fifth seed Isner by taking both tie-breaks at the end of two tightly-contested sets.
"It was tough," he added on the quick turnaround. "But we finished almost at the same time, so we both faced the same thing. You have to get through it."
Cypriot Baghdatis caused a second upset in the last eight by seeing off the challenge of the third-seeded Verdasco.
Nalbandian through
Meanwhile, Marin Cilic, at number four the highest seed left in the draw, will take on Argentine David Nalbandian in the other semi-final.
Nalbandian, playing in his first tournament since April after recovering from a hamstring injury, used three service breaks in the third set to defeat 13th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 3-6 6-2 6-3.
Croat Cilic defeated Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 6-4 to register his fifth win over the Serb in five matches.
