Paris - Frenchman Gilles Simon booked his place in the Paris Masters semifinals with a comprehensive 6-4 6-4 win over Czech fifth seed Tomas Berdych on Friday.
The unseeded Simon, who reached the quarter-finals after Japanese Kei Nishikori withdrew with an ankle injury, had too much pace for Berdych in front of his home crowd.
Simon was 4-1 down in the second set but fought back to win the five remaining games, wrapping up the contest with an ace on his second match point.
He will face either Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz or Serbian eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic on Saturday for a place in the final. – Reuters