Top men, women advance to semifinals

Sela, Weintraub, Pe’er, Glushko move to next round of the Israel tennis championships in Ra’anana

By ALLON SINAI
Sela 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Sela 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Dudi Sela encountered more difficulty than expected on Wednesday on his way to the semifinals of the Israel tennis championships in Ra’anana.
The Israel No. 1 man battled to a 7-5, 6-3 win over Bar Dekel to set up a meeting with Amit Inbar, who beat Aviv Ben-Shabat 6-2, 6-1.
Defending champion Amir Weintraub had far less trouble than last year’s defeated finalist, advancing to Thursday’s semis with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Sa’ar Steele.
Weintraub will next play Gilad Ben- Zvi, who defeated Tal Goldengorn 6-2, 6-1.
“Sa’ar played really well and I’m happy I eventually got the job done and I hope to improve on Thursday,” Weintraub said. “Ben-Zvi is in excellent shape and I hope I’ll be sharp and advance to another final.”
Meanwhile, Shahar Pe’er closed to within two wins of a sixth straight title on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Sarai Sternbach.
Pe’er will play Ofri Lankri in the semifinals on Thursday after the latter beat Amit Lev Ari 6-1, 6-1.
The No. 2 seed, Julia Glushko, dropped just a single game for a second straight day, thrashing Libby Mesh 6-0, 6-1.
Glushko will face Fed Cup teammate Keren Shlomo in the semis after Shlomo beat Liat Zimmerman 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.