Gilles Simon Into Sydney Semi

Gilles Simon looks well and truly on the comeback trail as he booked his spot in the Sydney semi-final with a good win over Alexandr Dogopolov.

The Frenchman had another troubled season in 2010 when he struggled with a knee injury; he has slip to number forty one in the world.

But Simon looked to be putting all of his troubles behind him as he was in cruise control and never looked troubled.

Simon broke Dogopolov, who put out top seed Sam Querrey earlier this week, once in each set and dominated play from start to finish.

Speaking to the ATP after the match Simon said: “I think I'm playing very good now, as good as two years ago.

“The thing is in tennis it's always a matter of confidence. You have to win some good matches and to beat the top guys.

“Only one time sometimes, and then you feel the ranking is coming. You are seeded, you are a little bit more protected, and you are playing better and better.”

He will now face Ernests Gulbis for a spot in the Sydney final as the Latvian came through in straight sets against Sergiy Stakhovsky.

The dangerous Latvian broke his opponent three times in the match, in what was a strong contest on the serve.

And while Gulbis was broken himself be notched up another straight sets win as he closed out 6-4 6-4 to set up the clash with Simon.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw