The 120th-ranked Soeda broke in the third game of the first
set and the ninth game of the second after twice earlier trading breaks with
the Beijing Olympics doubles gold medallist.
"He deserved to win, he was playing better and was
putting a lot of pressure on," Wawrinka said. "It happens this is
just the beginning of the year. You are looking for matches, looking for
rhythm, looking to play a good game."x Soeda will now play either
top-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia or Belgian wild card David Goffin.
"I am really happy — my first Tour semifinal and
beating the world No. 17," Soeda said.
Second-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain and fourth-seeded
Milos Raonic of Canada set up a semifinal clash after contrasting quarterfinal
victories.
Almagro saved three match points before beating Japanese
qualifier Yuichi Sugita 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4, while the big-serving Raonic served
15 aces to sweep aside Israel's Dudi Sela 7-6 (4), 6-3.
The 1.96-meter Raonic, who won the ATP Newcomer of the Year
award in 2011, lifted his game in the second set after an evenly contested
opener.
"Obviously, I am happy with the result," the
Canadian said. "There were a lot of things to be happy about, but a lot of
things that I need to address for tomorrow.
"Today, I think I served a lot better but I was
struggling to choose the right shots. Sometimes I was hesitant and sometimes I
was rushing too much, making it difficult for myself." It was Almagro's
first match at the tournament this year, after receiving a first-round bye and
Steve Darcis of Belgium pulling out with an injury in the second round.
Sugita squandered his chance to win in the second set
tiebreaker, allowing Almagro to close it out on his fifth match point.
