Youzny and Fognini advance to last four

St Petersburg, Russia: Top-seed and local favourite Mikhail Youzhny reached the semi-finals of the St Petersburg Open, beating the seventh-seeded Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 on Friday.

Also advancing to the last four were third-seeded Martin Klizan, of Slovakia, fourth-seeded Fabio Fognini, of Italy, and another Spaniard, Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

Youzhny, the 2004 champion and a two-time runner-up, managed only five points on his serve in the second set but recovered after an early break in the third set and won four consecutive games for a 5-2 lead. He landed a high volley down the line to earn two match points and wrapped up the victory with a low volley at the net.

“If I cut off the second set, I can say that I’m satisfied with the level of my tennis and the result of the match,” Youzhny said. “The first set was a really tough one and my current physical form was not enough to play the whole match at a high level.”

The Russian will next face Klizan, who eliminated Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 6-2. The 45th-ranked Klizan, who mostly plays on the Challenger Tour, saved four break points and broke Berankis twice in each set to reach his second career semi-final.

Fognini defeated Roberto Bautista-Agut, of Spain, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1).

“I broke him just one time in the first set but it was a tough set,” Fognini said. “I was 5-3 up in the second set but he (Bautista-Agut) played three perfect games. I was serving for the match at 6-5 down and won that game, which was very important. And I then served well at the tiebreaker and won it easily.”

The Italian won his first title in Bucharest, Romania, in April. In his second semi-final appearance this season, Fognini will play Gimeno-Traver. The Spaniard eliminated Flavio Cipolla of Italy 6-2, 7-5 to reach his first semi-final in more than two years.