Gambill holds all the aces against Youzhny

Jan Michael Gambill of the United States reached the final of the Qatar Open in Doha yesterday, beating Russia's Davis Cup hero Mikhail Youzhny in a one-sided semi-final.

Playing a controlled baseline game, Gambill knocked out Youzhny in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. He will meet Austria's Stefan Koubek, who ended the Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui's defence of his title with a closely fought 7-6, 7-6, victory.

Gambill hit seven aces in the match, including five in the second set. Exercising remarkable control over service returns, Gambill also broke Youzhny twice in each set during the 82-minute match.

"I knew his strong point is a good baseline game," said Gambill. "Fortunately, my passing shots and volleying have been very good in this tournament, and I was able to control the game today also because of my good returns."

In Adelaide, the former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek beat Brian Vahaly 6-1, 6-3, to reach the semi-finals of the Australian men's hardcourt championship.

The departures of Argentina's Mariano Zabaleta and Spain's Alberto Martin meant that none of the eight seeds reached the semi-finals. Fifth-seeded Zabaleta lost 7-6, 6-1, to Nikolay Davydenko of Russia while Martin, the sixth seed, fell to Belgian qualifier Kristof Vliegen 6-3, 6-4.

Krajicek faces Vliegen today for a place in the final while Davydenko meets Adrian Voinea after the Romanian defeated Anthony Dupuis of France 7-6, 6-4.

In Perth, the world No 1, Serena Williams, sounded a warning just nine days before the Australian Open when she pounded Kim Clijsters into submission at the Hopman Cup mixed team event.

While Clijsters has been practising hard in Australia for the past month, Williams arrived in the country only at the beginning of the week, yet still beat Clijsters 7-5, 6-3, before teaming up with James Blake to lead the top-seeded United States into today's final.

Clijsters's Belgian team-mate Xavier Malisse had levelled the tie by defeating Blake 7-6, 6-2. But Williams would not be denied in the decisive mixed doubles match, keeping Blake's spirits up as the pair secured a 7-6, 3-6, 10-5, tiebreak victory.

The final against Australia, represented by Lleyton Hewitt and Alicia Molik, will pit the two world No 1 players against each other in the mixed doubles encounter.

But Williams refused to speculate on the match, saying: "I don't care if I'm playing Lleyton Hewitt or Pete Sampras. I'm just here to play tennis. I'm just here to enjoy it and have a lot of fun."