In an impressive display of stamina and consistency, tour veteran Davide Sanguinetti knocked off no. one seed Dominik Hrbaty 3-6 7-5 6-4 on Friday at the Pro Tennis World Open. The fiesty Italian retired to the locker room and returned four hours later with plenty of gas left to take out no. 7 Alberto Martin in straight sets, 6-2 6-2. Sanguinetti faces the high-finesse game of Christophe Rochus in the semi final Saturday afternoon (approximately 1:00 pm). Several players had to play two matches on Friday, because of rain delays Wednesday and Thursday.

Rochus defeated Mark Philippoussis 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2; and followed it up with a confident win over Bjorn Phau 7-5 6-4. Philippoussis, on the mend from a leg injury in January and seeking to get “match tough” for the Nasdaq-100 Open, will be back Saturday afternoon to play QF doubles with partner Jan-Michael Gambill, facing Justin Gimelstob and Brian Macphie.

Saturday’s first match, which starts at 11am, pits no. 3 seed Karol Beck vs. Tomas Zib in the other singles semi-final. Beck reached the final four with a definitive victory over No. 5 Igor Andreev 6-1, 6-0. Zib got to the semis with a 6-2, 6-4 win over qualifier Gilles Simon. Zib had earlier taken out no. 2 seed Luis Horna, who plays doubles Saturday evening with partner Jose Acasuso.

Saturday’s matches:

11:00 am - Karol Beck (SVK) vs. Tomas Zib (CZE)

followed by:

Davide Sanguinette (ITA) vs. Christophe Rochus (BEL)
Jan-Michael Gambill (USA)/Mark Philippoussis (AUS) vs. Justin Gimelstob (USA)/Brian Macphie
Rick Leach (USA)/Travis Parrott (USA) vs. Daniele Bracchiali (ITA)/Christophe Rochus (BEL)
Ashley Fisher (AUS)/Tripp Phillips (USA) vs. Karol Beck (SVK)/Jaroslav Levinsky (CZE)
Not before 6:00 pm:
Fisher/Phillips or Beck/Levinsky vs. Gambill/Philippoussis or Gimelstob/Macphie
Leach/Parrot or Bracchiali/Rochus vs. Jose Acasuso/Luis Horna

The Pro Tennis World Open runs From March 13 – 20, 2005 at Sunrise Tennis Club, 9605 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Sunrise FL 33351.