Nicolas Mahut (above) will meet Dick Norman in his second semifinal.
(ELISE AMENDOLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
Inspired Mahut advances
Nicolas Mahut (above) will meet Dick Norman in his second semifinal.
(ELISE AMENDOLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
NEWPORT, R.I. -- Pete Sampras provided the incentive fifth-seeded Nicolas Mahut needed to beat qualifier Prakash Amritraj, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), in the quarterfinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships yesterday.
Mahut said three days ago that Sampras was his idol when he started playing tennis, and now Mahut will be playing in the grass-court semifinals after Sampras gets inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame today.
"I'm glad to be playing the semifinals tomorrow," Mahut said. "I'm really glad to see Mr. Sampras."
Mahut will play in his second career semifinal against Dick Norman, who ousted qualifier Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Mahut went up, 6-1, in the tiebreak before closing it out when Amritraj hit a second-serve return into the net.
In the other quarterfinals, Wesley Moodie upset second-seeded Vince Spadea, 6-4, 6-4, and fourth-seeded Fabrice Santoro beat Mischa Zverev, 6-4, 6-3.
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