PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain, May 3 (UPI) -- Eighth-seeded Gaston Gaudio of Argentina advanced Friday to his second straight semifinal, pulling away to beat top-seeded Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten, 7-5, 6-0, at the claycourt Mallorca Open.
Gaudio meets compatriot Agustin Calleri, the fifth seed, Saturday. The other matchup pits Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, the fourth seed, against another Argentine, Mariano Zabaleta.
Kuerten, the former world No. 1 who lost to Gaudio for the first time in three career meetings, is trying to regain his previous form after being sidelined due to hip surgery.
The two-time reigning French Open champion had not played on tour since Feb. 18, when he lost to Calleri in the opening round at Buenos Aires.
Meanwhile, Gaudio extended his ATP winning streak to nine matches. The 23-year-old captured his first career ATP title on Sunday at the Barcelona claycourt event.
Calleri set up the all-Argentine semifinal with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 victory over Olivier Rochus of Belgium. The 25-year-old Calleri is attempting to reach his second tour final of 2002. He took advantage of knocking off Kuerten at Buenos Aires, advancing to the final.
Nieminen reached his second semifinal of the year, upsetting seventh seed Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). The Finnish No. 1 was the runner-up at Estoril last month.
Zabaleta created the possibility of an all-Argentine final with a 7-5, 6-3 quarterfinal win over Spain's David Sanchez.
