American Brian Vahaly reached his first ATP semifinal with a hard-fought 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Irakli Labadze in the quarterfinals of the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis.

The 23-year-old was leading by a set and a break before being pegged back by Labadze, who defeated third seed James Blake in the second round. But the American, who reached the quarterfinals in Adelaide in the first week of the year, held his nerve to earn his place in the last four where he will meet either Andy Roddick or Robby Ginepri.

"I was up a set and a break and was in control and I think I let the nerves get to me a bit," said Vahaly. "I just tried to slow it down a bit, and although I didn't serve that well today, I pride myself on being competitive, so I just stayed in there."

Exciting Time

With Andy Roddick the only seed remaining in the draw, Vahaly knew that this was a good chance to go further than he has before in an ATP tournament. "I knew the draw had opened up and I knew this was a big opportunity," said Vahaly. "Without trying to be overly ambitious, I knew I had a good chance and tried to play my best."

Vahaly, who was the most successful player at the Univeristy of Virginia in the school's history, was looking forward to the prospect of having four Americans in the semifinals of a tournament for the first time since San Jose in 1995, and of being up there with the best in the county.

"It's really exciting to have four Americans in the semis," said Vahaly. "Andy [Roddick] and Robby [Ginepri] are two of my best friends, they've really helped me a lot and it's great to be up there in the same breath as the likes of them, Taylor [Dent], Mardy Fish and James Blake.

"I've worked hard with my coaches [Scott McCain and Jerry Baskin], and it's been a good year for me. It's nice to see the hard work that we put in during the off-season is paying off. This is by far my result in an ATP event."