Week 5 Semifinals

For a week when the top players (who happen to be in action) ought to have been tired from the Australian Open the week before, the top players are by and large dominating the three tournaments going on this week. All three feature the top seed and the third seed in the first semifinal, while the second seed is still in action in two tournaments. In Zagreb, Ljubicic dropped in the second round to Lukas Lacko.

The top seeds are all the favorites at this point, not only to make it to the final, but to win it all. I'm very impressed by Cilic's ability to last this long. He weathered a ton of aces from Ivo Karlovic in the last round so he can face Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer, who should be less of a challenge, despite being a higher seed. He'll then face Michael Berrer, in all likelihood. Berrer is on a hot streak, winning last week's challenger event and then making it to the semis this week. Maybe he'll get lucky and find a tired Cilic.

Gonzalez continues to impress, furthering the cause of naming the tournament in Chile after him when he retires. His next round should be more of a challenge, but the crowd will be firmly behind him as he faces up-and-coming Brazilian Tomaz Bellucci. If he makes it through that match (as he likely will) he'll probably face Juan Monaco, who he has owned five times in the past, twice at this very tournament.

In Johannesburg, David Ferrer - the second seed - should breeze into the final. His opponent, Frenchman Stephane Robert, is ranked 86 places lower. He'll then meet the winner of Gael Monfils and Feliciano Lopez. It's their first meeting, so it could be interesting.

Also worth noting is the success of two young Australian players in challenger events this week. In Dallas, Carsten Ball is through to the final without dropping a set. In Burnie, Australia, Bernard Tomic has dropped two seeds on his way to the semis. With Lleyton Hewitt sidelined for a while with another surgery, things are looking brighter for the future of Australian tennis.