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Barcelona - Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer both won Friday to set up an all-Spanish semifinal at the Barcelona Open.
Fifth-seeded Verdasco saved seven break chances late in the second set as he held on for a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, while Ferrer moved a step closer to reaching his third straight final after beating Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 6-0.
"He's a top tennis player, especially on clay," Verdasco said. "It'll be a difficult but nice match. At least one of us will be in the final."
Verdasco, who lost Sunday's Monte Carlo Masters final to Rafael Nadal, broke Gulbis in the fourth and eighth games to take the first set before starting out 2-0 in the second.
But 44th-ranked Gulbis broke back before drawing level.
Both players held their serves until the 11th game, when Gulbis failed to convert seven break chances to move ahead. Gulbis threw his racket into the air in frustration after hitting his seventh chance long, and Verdasco finally took the set with a winner at the net.
Verdasco led 5-1 in the tiebreaker before clinching it on his second match point after Gulbis hit a backhand wide.
"I'm happy to be in the semifinal for the first time here," said Verdasco, who is 5-3 against Davis Cup teammate Ferrer.
The eighth-seeded Ferrer, who lost to five-time champion Nadal in his two final appearances, broke his Brazilian opponent four times to reach the semifinal for a fourth consecutive time.
Second-seeded Robin Soderling plays Eduardo Schwank of Argentina later before 10th-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga faces Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker on the outdoor clay.
