Melzer teams up with Erlich after ousting Sela in Thailand

Austrian and Israeli join forces to advance to the semifinals of the doubles event.

By ALLON SINAI, AP
Hours after knocking out Dudi Sela in the second round of the Thailand Open in Bangkok on Wednesday, Jurgen Melzer teamed up with Yoni Erlich to advance to the semifinals of the doubles event.
The Austrian, ranked number 13 in the world, brushed aside Sela 6-3, 6-4, his second victory in 10 days over the Israeli following last week’s win in the Davis Cup World Group playoffs.
At least one Israeli is benefiting from Melzer’s excellent form with the Austrian and Erlich reaching the last four of the doubles tournament in Bangkok on Wednesday.
They scored a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 10-5 victory over Michael Kohlmann and Jarko Nieminen.
The Israel-Austrian duo will face Dmitry Tursunov and Kittipong Wachiramanowong in Friday’s semifinal matchup.
Shahar Pe’er and China’s Shuai Peng will face Yung-Jan Chan and Liezel Huber in the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open doubles tournament in Tokyo on Friday after beating No. 1 seeds Flavia Pennetta and Gisela Dulko 5-7, 6-1, 10-8 on Thursday.
Also Thursday, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki was given an easy path into the singles semifinals when Agnieszka Radwanska retired with a left foot injury in the first set.
Trailing 5-0, the sixth-seeded Radwanska consulted with a trainer during the changeover before deciding she could not continue.
Wozniacki, aiming for her sixth title this year, will meet eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the semis on Friday. In Bangkok, Rafael Nadal dispatched qualifier Ruben Bemelmans 6-1, 6-4 Thursday in his Thailand Open debut.
In Friday’s quarterfinals, Nadal will meet Mikhail Kukushkin.