Taylor Dent progressed to his first ATP semifinal since winning the title in Newport last July with a 7-6(1), 6-2 victory over Vladimir Voltchkov.

The American, who was 0-3 this year coming into Memphis and 0-4 in tie-breaks, won his fourth consecutive tie-break before racing through the second set in 30 minutes.

His victory guaranteed an all-American semifinal lineup for the first time since San Jose in 1995, when Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Jim Courier, and MaliVai Washington reached the last four. It also is the first time four countrymen have reached the semifinals anywhere since Spain swept the board in Umag, Croatia in 1997.

"I've been saying for a long time that American tennis is not in the trouble people have been saying it is," said Dent. "It was always going to take time for the young players to break through, and it's only a matter of time before you're seeing all-American finals all over the place."

Break

Dent, who dropped his serve for only the second time in the tournament when leading 4-2 in the first set, made 45 percent of his first serves but saved five of the six break points he faced throughout the match.
"My first serve wasn't as good as I would have liked, but my second serve has improved a lot and that helped me get through the match today. Vladimir hits the ball very flat and very hard and he played a great game to break me. I still felt that I could break him and then just swing away in the tie-break."

Dent, who came through a 17-15 tie-break against Mark Philippoussis in the first round, was pleased they're getting shorter. "The 7-1 today certainly made me breathe a little easier than the 17-15," said Dent. "Hopefully I won't have to play any more, but if I do, I will be ready for them. It shows that my mental strength is there and that my tennis is going in the right direction."

Spadea Awaits

Dent now meets Vincent Spadea after he defeated Mardy Fish 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to reach his first semifinal since Tokyo last year. Spadea, who slipped to No. 229 in 2000, reached the quarterfinals in San Jose last week and is challenging for his first career ATP title.

"It's nice to be playing in the main events again," said Spadea, who had a 22-7 record in Challengers last year. "I'm motivated, I'm improving many aspects of my game and it's been a long road through the Challengers to get here. I'm just trying to make the best of my abilities and my career while it lasts."

Looking ahead to playing Dent for the first time, he added: "He's playing well here, he likes the courts. I've just got to hold my serve and look for opportunities on his. We have contrasting styles, so it should be a good match up."