OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 11.50pm.
SOUTH African tennis star Wayne Ferreira trounced world number three and US Open champion Pat Rafter in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 at the Lyon Grand Prix tennis tournament on Friday.
Ferreira will play fourth seeded Spaniard Alex Corretja in the semifinals on Saturday.
The South African has now won five of his eight matches against Rafter and goes into his match against Corretja with a four out of six record.
Corretja beat Frenchman Olivier Delaitre 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 to reach the semifinals.
In the other semi third seed Chilean Marcelo Rios will play Germany’s Tommy Haas, after beating French youngster Arnaud di Pasquale 6-4, 6-0. Haas got his place in the final without even working up a sweat when his opponent, world number one Pete Sampras, withdrew with a back injury.
Ferreira’s victory over Rafter comes as a welcome return to form after he struggled to perform after injuring his ankle at the French Open earlier this year.