Richard won his QF in Sydney against Potito Starace 6-3 7-6 (7).
Strangely enough the match was put on a non-televised court. Richard took it away from his Italian opponent quickly and was two breaks up soon. He had to concede one rebreak, but won the set 6-3. The second set went to a breaker, in which Richard was down 1-4, but regrouped well to take it 9-7.
The seminfinal will be an all French affair, as Richard's doubles partner Julien Benneteau scored a three sets victory over Leonardo Mayer.