Paire Reaches Barcelona Semis

Benoit Paire reached his third ATP World Tour semi-final of the season on Friday as he defeated Malek Jaziri 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell.

The sixth-seeded Frenchman clinched a tight second set with a break of serve in the 12th game, capitalising on his third set point to level the match. From there it was a sprint to the finish, with Paire breaking in the second and sixth games of the decider to prevail in two hours.

After semi-final showings in Chennai (l. to Wawrinka) and Marseille (l. to Cilic), Paire is bidding to reach his fifth ATP World Tour final (1-3 record). The 26 year old won his lone title on clay in Bastad last year (d. Robredo).

Paire goes on to face either second seed and two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori or Alexandr Dolgopolov.