Fri Jul 25 15:26:15 2008

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Simon, Kiefer into semis; Blake exits at Rogers Cup

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Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Frenchman Gilles Simon continued his impressive play, while seventh-seeded American James Blake lost in Friday afternoon's quarter-final action at the $2,615,000 Rogers Masters in Toronto.

Unseeded Nicolas Kiefer easily downed Blake 6-1, 6-2. Prior to the match, Blake held a 3-0 lifetime record against Kiefer.

The German Kiefer will be appearing in his second semifinal of the year. He lost in the semis earlier this season to Roger Federer at the Gerry Weber Open. The 31-year-old Kiefer is the oldest player left in the draw.

Meanwhile, Blake's unimpressive season continues. Although Blake has a 36-17 record this season, he has yet to win a title this year. His last title came last year in New Haven.

In a battle of unseeded players, Simon fought back to defeat Marin Cilic of Croatia 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Simon improved to 3-0 lifetime against Cilic.

The 23-year-old Simon shocked the crowd here on Wednesday, when he stunned world No. 1 Federer in second-round action. Federer was playing in his first match since losing to Rafael Nadal in this year's epic Wimbledon final.

The world No. 22 Simon has now won 11 consecutive matches, including a title in Indianapolis last week. His last loss came against fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the third round at Wimbledon. Simon improved his season record to 30-16, including a 19-8 record on the hard courts.

Simon and Kiefer will meet in Saturday's semis. The two players have never met before.

It will be a star-studded night of tennis this evening, with world No. 2 Nadal and world No. 3 Novak Djokovic highlighting tonight's two remaining quarter-final matches.

The defending champion Djokovic will start the night off with his match against eighth-seeded Andy Murray. Nadal and Gasquet will follow that match. The action is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. (et).

In the next few weeks, Federer may find himself in an unusual position. Federer's grasp on the top ranking took a major hit with his departure against Simon in the second round. Should Nadal now go on and win the Rogers Cup this week, Nadal would have a chance next week in Cincinnati to dethrone Federer, who has held the world No. 1 for 234 consecutive weeks (since February 2004). Nadal is 770 points behind Federer this week but could cut that lead to a mere 275 points should he win the Rogers Cup, which he did in Montreal in 2005.