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8/1/09 3:35 AM | Ricky Dimon
Juan Carlos Ferrero is through to the Umag semifinals after ousting Maximo Gonzalez on Friday. Jurgen Melzer also advances, dispatching Ivan Ljubicic in three sets.
(5) Juan Carlos Ferrero d. Maximo Gonzalez 7-5, 6-2
Ferrero needed one hour and 40 minutes to get past Gonzalez and book a spot in the semifinals of the Studena Croatia Open on Friday. The former world No. 1 is now 25-11 for the season, including a quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon and semifinal showing at Queen's Club in addition to a title in Casablanca. Ferrero is back up to 36th in the world rankings, good enough for the No. 5 seed this week in Umag.
Despite Ferrero's impressive form, Gonzalez kept things competitive throughout the first set despite not seeing a single break point. The unseeded Argentine took care of his own serve en route to 5-5, but a late break gave the momentum to Ferrero and the Spaniard never looked back. Ferrero surrendered serve once during the second frame of play, but more than made up for it by break his opponent an additional three times. Next up for "the Mosquito" is seventh-seeded Andreas Seppi, a straight-set winner over Nicolas Massu.
(4) Jurgen Melzer vs. Ivan Ljubicic 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3
Melzer saved four match points to stun the Croatian crowd and take out Ljubicic in two hours and 27 minutes on Friday. What turned into a three-set win for Melzer was almost a straight-set victory for Ljubicic. The 6'4'' Croat used two breaks to take the first set, in part because Melzer served at a mere 35 percent. Both men saved four break points during the second frame of play, although all four of Ljubicic's break points were match points. Melzer saved one at 4-5, then saved three more at 5-6 before ultimately winning the second in a tiebreaker.
After squandering such an opportunity, Ljubicic went away without too much of a fight in the third. The world No. 64 did not get a look at a single break point, althought that was in part due to Melzer, who improved his serve dramatically throughout sets two and three. The fourth-seeded Austrian improves to 4-0 lifetime against Ljubicic. Melzer will face top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko on Saturday for a spot in the Umag final.
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