Marseille has not been a good tournament for Richard in the past. Yesterday he defeated Ivan Dodig 7-5 6-3 to reach his first ever semifinal in the Mediterranean city where he will play Ernests Gulbis.
Richard started well and broke the Croat in the fourth game. However, he could not hold on to his Aavantage and was rebroken straight away. The match went on serve and Richard had to save two breakpoints at 5 all, one of them with a miraculous backhand pass. Dodig was in similar situation at 6-5*, but Richard was effective and won the first set 7-5. With the first set in the pocket, things became a bit more easy. Richard broke Dodig at the start of the second set and hold on to his advantage for a 7-5 6-3 victory.
