Richey Reneberg saw off a brace of Washingtons to advance to the semi-finals of the XL Bermuda Open. Reneberg, the number two seed from America, beat Mashiska on Thursday and followed that up with a victory over elder brother MaliVai yesterday to book a match with Argentina's Lucas Arnold for a place in tomorrow's singles final.

But strangely enough it was the younger Washington, ranked 561, and not the former Wimbledon runner-up, who gave Reneberg, himself rated 91 on the ATP Tour, the sterner test.

Mashiska took him to three sets after reeling off five games in a row in the first to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 6-4 victory. He then had two points for a 2-0 lead in the second, before Reneberg, at 32 nine years his opponent's senior, drew on his experience -- and Mashiska's anxiety -- to take the next two sets 6-3, 6-0.

MaliVai was equally slow to get going and also had to trawl back from 4-0 down in the first. He managed to draw level at 5-5 and take the set into a tie-break but Reneberg had the force with him and reeled off a series of winners to take that 7-1.

Reneberg broke in the fifth game of the second set, two delightful curving drop volleys winning him the crucial points, and again in the seventh to complete a convincing 7-6, 6-2 victory.

But Malivai had clearly been out-of-sorts, uncharacteristically questioning a couple of tight line decisions and snapping at the ball boys and girls.

Reneberg thought so as well, admitting that he had come through an easier game than he anticipated and suggesting that Washington's knee injury -- which kept him out of the game for seven months last year and still needs to be packed in ice after every match -- had been troubling him.

"Mal, when he's played this year, seems to have been hitting the ball quite well. But I think his knee seems to be bothering him,'' he said.

"Mal and me have played a lot over the years and we've always had good matches but he didn't seem to be moving as well as he usually does.

"That's usually one of his biggest assets. If he's not moving well -- particularly on clay when you have to start and stop and slide around a bit -- it's difficult. And I kind of sensed that when I was 4-0 up in the first set and I don't know if he played a little better or I eased up a bit.

"But I was fortunate to win the tie-break -- first set tie breaks are important in any match.'' Referring to his meeting with Mashiska a day earlier, he agreed: "I was lucky to get out of that match. I felt real tired but it was a lot about what Mashiska was doing -- he was running me all over the place.

"I had a tiring week last week and I felt like it was starting to catch up with me. I think Mashiska became a little anxious to put me away and that's when he started to make a few errors. That's what I needed to get back in the match because he wasn't really giving me any free points.'' He added: "Mal and Mashiska play pretty similar games although Mal hits the ball a little harder and you know that Mal is going to compete. If he gets up a set and a break he's not going to make so many mistakes.'' Yesterday's other two quarter finals -- the third, between Hernan Gumy and Australia's Todd Larkham was washed out last night -- were equally one-sided.

Number six seed Lucas Arnold beat his unseeded Argentinian compatriot Marcelo Charpentier 6-1, 6-4 but not before once again incurring the wrath of a crowd strongly behind the purple-haired one. His lengthy questioning of a line call, coming on top of his time-wasting antics against Andrei Merinov in the first round, earned him a slow handclap and one or two cat-calls from the posh boxes.

Which is a pity, because when he concentrates on his tennis, he's got enough shots to beat most players in this tournament as well as an ability to last it out from the baseline.

Earlier, another Argentinian, number seven seed Franco Squillari, defeated Germany's big-serving Michael Kohlmann with surprising ease.

Kohlmann, who on Thursday battened down the hatches and locked away the crockery to allow the storm known as Andrew Ilie to blow himself out by a third set, could find no answer to the left-hander's own strength and accuracy as he went down in straight sets.

Meanwhile, a fourth seed went out of the competition, when number four Oliver Gross, of Germany, was beaten in the second round by Todd Larkham of Australia.

Open Notebook, schedule results, see Page 17.

EYE ON THE BALL -- Argentina's Lucas Arnold on his way to beating compatriot Marcelo Charpentier at the Bermuda Open yesterday -- a victory that earned him a semi-final against number two seed Richey Reneberg.

Photos by Arthur Bean DESPERATE DIVE -- Marcelo Charpentier performed brilliantly to reach this volley but his resulting return was put away for a winner by opponent Lucas Arnold in yesterday's Bermuda Open singles quarter-final.