Cuevas advances to Swedish Open semis

Bastad - Defending champion Pablo Cuevas beat Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-3, 6-4 in the Swedish Open quarterfinals on Friday.

In the semifinals the third-seeded Uruguayan faces France's Benoit Paire, who easily defeated Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-4, 6-2 in just under an hour.

Also, two-time Bastad champion and second-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain defeated France's Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3, 6-3.

It took three sets for Germany's Alexander Zverev to beat sixth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.