VALENCIA, Spain (AP) Defending champion David Ferrer will play former winner Nicolas Almagro in the semifinals of the Valencia Open after both Spaniards won on Friday.
The top-seeded Ferrer beat Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 6-4, 4-6, 6-0, while the third-seeded Almagro bounced back from a poor start to down Fabio Fognini 7-6 (6), 6-2.
Ferrer used his speed and ground game to overcome Janowicz's powerful serve with key breaks to finish the first set and then start the third.
Ferrer and Almagro have won a combined five titles at this tournament. Besides last year, Ferrer won the event in 2010 and beat Almagro in the 2008 final, ending the latter's two-year title run.
Also, Mikhail Youzhny outlasted Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4 in 2 hours, 21 minutes to set up an all-Russian semifinal with Dmitry Tursunov.