Blake advances as Haas falls in Houston

Tommy Haas relinquished his place in the world top 10 after crashing out of the US Clay Court Championships, while James Blake battled into the last four with a hard-fought victory over Argentinean Juan Monaco.

Blake recorded a 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 7-6 (10-8) triumph over the eighth seed, while Haas suffered a straight sets quarter-final defeat by Croatian Ivo Karlovic.