Moodie Through to Newport Semifinals

South African Wesley Moodie upset No. 2 seed Vince Spadea to move through to the semifinals of the Campbells Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport on Friday.

Moodie, who joined the Monte-Carlo Tennis Academy last month in order to boost his chances of breaking into the world’s top 50, booked a place in his first ATP semifinal since October 2005 with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Spadea.

“It was a very good performance from Wes,” said MCTA Physical Conditioner Jez Green. “He moved through his returns much better and only missed one first volley.”

The 28-year-old World No. 137 fired 10 aces and converted two of his six break point opportunities against Spadea, who reached the Newport final two years ago before losing to Greg Rusedski. 

Moodie will now meet fourth seeded Frenchman Fabrice Santoro for a place in his first final since he won the title in Tokyo at the end of the 2005 season. Moodie and Santoro were the top seeds in the doubles competition but Santoro had to withdraw from their quarterfinal after suffering from heat illness following his three-set singles victory over Canadian Frank Dancevic in the second round.

Santoro has won their only two previous meetings in singles, including on grass in the first round in Halle last month.

In the other semifinal, Belgian veteran Dick Norman faces Artois Championships runner-up Nicolas Mahut.

Moodie, who won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2005, announced he was joining the MCTA with the aim of improving his singles ranking and to serve as an inspiration to the Academy’s younger players, Ilija Vucic, Anna Fitzpatrick and Ana Veselinovic.

“Having won a Wimbledon doubles title and a tour event, I am confident that working with [head coach] Dave Sammel and the team will lead to more success, which is a powerful asset in helping the younger players mentally see first hand what is possible,” said Wes. “Dave and I have set clear goals for my tennis and I'm excited about these possibilities."