DOHA, Qatar - Gael Monfils upset Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-4 Friday in the semifinals of the Qatar Open to line up an unexpected all-French final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after Roger Federer pulled out of the tournament with back spasms.
Monfils, who had only beaten Nadal once before in nine meetings, used a strong first serve and chased down nearly every shot.
"I just played my game," said Monfils, who defeated Viktor Troicki of Serbia to reach the semifinals. "I think last night I played a good match and felt very good about it. I knew today if I did it in same spirit against Rafa, it would be great."
Monfils broke Nadal to go up 4-2 in the first set. Nadal recovered to lead 4-1 in the second set but Monfils stepped up his game. He won 16 of 21 points - including several jump volleys - to go 5-4 up before closing out the match when Nadal hit a return wide.
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Monfils said the key was not getting rattled, even when down in the second set.
"It was just a break, so I was just trying to adjust the way I played," he said. "I was just thinking, 'it's one break and I know I can break him.' "
Brisbane International
BRISBANE, Australia - Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters quit her semifinal in the Brisbane International because of an ailing hip Friday.
Clijsters won the opening set 7-6 (4) against Daniela Hantuchova but was broken at the start of the second set and needed treatment after the third game. She came back on court for one game before walking to the net and telling Hantuchova she couldn't continue after falling behind 3-1.
No. 24-ranked Hantuchova will be aiming for her fifth WTA Tour title when she plays No. 34-ranked Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, who defeated 2010 French Open winner Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-3, 6-0 in the other semifinal.
In the men's quarterfinals, top-seeded Andy Murray beat doubles partner Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-2. The Scot will next play eighth-seeded Bernard Tomic. Tomic, an Australian teenager and quarterfinalist at Wimbledon last year, converted the only break-point chance of the match to beat Uzbekistan's Dennis Istomin 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Drop shots
• The Czech Republic reached the Hopman Cup final against France on Friday, advancing with a 2-0 victory over Denmark after No. 2-ranked Petra Kvitova beat No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in three sets and Tomas Berdych defeated Frederik Nielsen.
• Japanese qualifier Go Soeda upset defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4 in the Chennai (India) Open quarterfinals on Friday.
