Malisse is ranked 62nd in the world

Top seed Tomas Berdych blamed a lack of sleep as he lost 6-4 3-6 6-2 to Xavier Malisse in the quarter-finals of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington.

Wimbledon finalist Berdych began the match only 10 hours after going to bed following his rain-delayed round three win over Andrey Golubev.

"In the first set I felt like I was still sleeping," complained the Czech.

Malisse will face Marcos Baghdatis, who upset third seed Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (7-3) 6-4, in the semi-finals.

Belgian Malisse admitted he, too, was tired after a similarly late evening finish to his third-round, three-set victory over big-serving American John Isner.

However, unlike his opponent, the world number 62 dismissed the short turnaround as a factor in the match.

"It was tough. It was a quick one," said Malisse. "We finished about the same time. For both it was the same."

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Berdych, though, was livid that he was forced to fill the scheduled noon television slot.

"I was not 100% ready and that's disappointing," added the 24-year-old. "I wanted to play better."

"I thought I could get some better times with a number one seed, that I would be able to get a better schedule. It's the reason I'm not going to be here next year."

Berdych, playing in his first tournament since losing the Wimbledon final to Rafael Nadal on 4 July, began poorly and failed to find his range with his usually devastating serve and forehand.

Malisse broke Berdych in two of his first three service games to trail 4-1 to lamely concede the first set.

The next set was much more even, before Malisse double-faulted on break point to fall behind 5-3.

Berdych served out to level the match but Malisse resumed his ascendancy in the third - breaking to 3-1 when Berdych pushed a backhand long before claiming victory with another break.

Berdych and Verdasco joined fellow seeds Andy Roddick (two), Isner (five) and Sam Querrey (six) in bowing out of the tournament.

In the other side of the draw, 2002 Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian, playing in his first event since April due to a hamstring injury, beat Frenchman Gilles Simon, who had earlier upset Roddick, 3-6 6-2 6-3.

The Argentine will face Croat Marin Cilic in the second semi-final, the fourth seed having overcome Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 6-4.

Roddick's defeat on Thursday will see the former world number one drop from ninth to 12th in the world rankings, meaning the men's top 10 will be without an American for the first time since the computer rankings began in 1973.

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