Dudi Sela moved a step closer towards qualifying for the London Olympics after reaching the semi-final of the Delray Beach International in Florida.

The Israeli has climbed to 63 in the ATP rankings following a successful run that saw him beat Finland's Jarrko Nieminen (43) and Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber (32) to reach his first ATP semi-final since January 2010. Sela was beaten in a final set tie-breaker by Australian qualifier Marinko Matosevic.

Having missed out on a place in the 2008 Olympics, the Olympic Committee of Israel has told Sela he must reach the world's top 50 to make the cut.