Pe’er breezes into semis; Sela, Okun to face off

Sela had to sweat before reaching the last four of the men’s competition on Wednesday, beating Tal Aros 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

By ALLON SINAIPE’ER BREEZES INTO SEMIS; SELA, OKUN
DUDI SELA 311 (photo credit: AP)
DUDI SELA 311
(photo credit: AP)
Shahar Pe’er and Dudi Sela took another step towards defending their national titles on Wednesday, advancing to the semifinals of the Israel championships in Ra’anana.
Pe’er thrashed Esther Masuri 6-0, 6-2 and will face Hen Astrogo in Thursday’s semis.
“I find it a little difficult to play against these girls because I don’t usually face them throughout the year,” said Pe’er, despite losing just two games in two matches in the tournament so far.
Second-seeded Julia Glushko defeated Liat Zimmerman 6-3, 7-6 and will play Denise Hazaniuk in the semis after the latter shocked Fed Cup player Keren Shlomo 3-6, 7-6, 6-1.
Sela had to sweat before reaching the last four of the men’s competition on Wednesday, beating Tal Aros 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
The No. 1 seed next faces Davis Cup teammate Noam Okun, who won both his last 16 and quarterfinal matches on Wednesday.
“Noam is a good player with a very powerful serve,” Sela said of Okun, who is playing in his last national championship before he officially retires at year’s end.
“Noam and I are good friends, but on the court I have no friends and I hope to crush him.”
In Thursday’s other semi, Amir Weintraub will play Sa’ar Stil.