Fabrice Santoro Still Has Some Tricks Up His Sleeve

by Ben Rothenberg on Jul 10, 2009 11:54 PM EDT Comment 3 comments

Two-time Newport defending champion and second seed Fabrice Santoro still knows how to saw the rain-soaked Newport draw in half.

The aging French player known as "The Magician" used his trade mark slicing angles and trick shots--as well as his underrated endurance--to win two back-to-back matches on Friday in Rhode Island. He won both his third round and quarterfinal matches in straight (though long) sets, over Taylor Dent and Nicholas Mahut, respectively. Dent and Mahut are both players who play their best tennis on the grass, so it's an impressive pair of victories in what is largely a soft Newport field.

Santoro, who will retire at the end of this season at the age of 37, was the highest ranked player (#34) left in the draw after top-seed Mardy Fish pulled out to fill in for Andy Roddick in Croatia. Santoro will face the second highest seed remaining in the semifinal, #3 American Sam Querrey.

While the bottom half of the draw is set to produce a decidedly impressive finalist, Fish's withdrawal has left the top half in shambles. #120 Olivier Rochus will face #181 Rajeev Ram in a semifinal that boasts a mean ranking outside the top 150.

I'm guessing tickets may still be available.

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