Del Potro Doesn't Feel Pressure In Finals Battle; Plays Anderson In Vienna SFs

© e|motion/zolles.comJuan Martin del Potro has a 45-14 match record on the season.

Juan Martin del Potro insisted on Friday that he does not feel pressure in the battle to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Speaking after his 6-2, 6-4 victory over German Tommy Haas, the 2001 champion, at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, del Potro said, "It is a nice goal to play the [Barclays] ATP World Tour Finals in London, but I am still a long way away and [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga, [Janko] Tipsarevic, [Tomas] Berdych and [Mardy] Fish are playing amazing tennis this season.

"It is going to be very tough, but if I win all the tournaments to Paris [the BNP Paribas Masters] it is possible. I don't feel pressure about the Finals, I just want to finish the year as strongly as I can. I'm almost Top 10 again, but with my ranking today I am very happy.

"I hope to have more confidence in my tennis and fitness next year. I am happy to reach another semi-final this year. It is important for my comeback and for the future."

Del Potro can add 230 South African Airways 2011 ATP Year-To-Date Rankings points by lifting the Vienna trophy this week. He is currently No. 13 in the battle for London with three spots left up for grabs.

The 23-year-old Argentine has won two ATP World Tour titles, in his comeback season from a wrist injury, at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (d. Tipsarevic) and the Estoril Open (d. Verdasco).

In Saturday's semi-finals, del Potro will play sixth-seeded South African Kevin Anderson, who got the better of two-time defending champion Jurgen Melzer. Anderson brought to an end the Austrian's nine-match winning streak in Vienna with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-3 win in 64 minutes. Anderson dropped just eight points on serve and hit 11 aces for his 40th match win of the year (40-24 overall).

"The first set was a little bit tricky," reflected Anderson. "There weren’t too many rallies at all and I didn’t really feel that good in his service games. But I think in the second set I picked it up nicely and the last few games I was pretty happy with the way I closed the match. The crowd really got into it and I had a lot of fun out there.

"I feel like I’m playing really good tennis right now and enjoying playing indoor tennis, which we don’t play too often. I’m feeling a lot healthier [than over the summer] and my motivation levels are pretty high. Any points you get now can help next year with the ranking."

Buy Tickets | Watch Live Online