Gasquet reaches first US Open semis with win against Ferrer

French tennis player Richard Gasquet has reached his first US Open semi-final by beating Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer 6-3 6-1 4-6 2-6 6-4 on Wednesday.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Gasquet, whose only previous appearance in the last four at a major was at Wimbledon in 2007, is the first Frenchman to get to the semi-finals in New York since Cedric Pioline in 1999.

The eight-seeded Frenchman's win was reportedly only his second in ten meetings with Ferrer, a series which had also seen him claim just two sets out of 20, and the report added that Gasquet may next be up against world number two Rafael Nadal, against whom he has lost all ten meetings as a professional player.

According to the report, Gasquet, who played the longest match of the tournament with a four-hour-40-minute slugfest against Canada's Milos Raonic in the fourth round, finished with 52 winners as compared to Ferrer's 40 to reach the semi-finals.

The two remaining quarter-finals will be played on Thursday when top seed and 2011 US Open champion Novak Djokovic takes on Russian 21st seed Mikhail Youzhny, a two-time semi-finalist.

Defending champion Andy Murray meets Stanislas Wawrkinka, the ninth-seeded Swiss, the report added.