Subpar Sela falls in quarters to Querrey

24-year-old Israeli still searching for his second semifinal of the year after losing to American Sam Querrey in the quarterfinals of the Los Angeles Open.

By ALLON SINAI
DUDI SELA CROUCHING 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
DUDI SELA CROUCHING 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Dudi Sela is still searching for his second semifinal of the year after losing 6-3, 7-5 to American Sam Querrey in the quarterfinals of the Los Angeles Open on Friday. The 24-year-old Israeli, whose only semifinal of the year to date came in Memphis in February, struggled against Querrey's (32nd in the world) serve, failing to reach a single break point throughout the match. "I thought we both played a good match. The fans were very loud and the atmosphere was very nice," Sela (30th) said. "It is tough to play against Querrey. If you lose one service game the set is pretty much over; it is very hard to break his serve." Top-seeded Tommy Haas advanced Friday to the semifinals, and had his path to the title cleared as his main rival pulled out. The German, who won this event in 2004 and 2006, beat eighth-seeded Marat Safin 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Friday. Second-seeded American Mardy Fish forfeited his quarterfinal against Argentina's Leonardo Mayer due to an abdominal strain. Mayer will be half of an unlikely semifinal against unseeded Australian Carsten Ball, who downed American John Isner 6-4, 6-4. Isner played with a brace on his left ankle, which he twisted in a match on Wednesday. Haas' semifinal opponent will be Querrey. AP contributed to this report