Ljubicic outlasts Baghdatis in China Open

BEIJING, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Defending champion Marcos Baghdatis dropped a final-set tiebreaker to Ivan Ljubicic in Friday’s quarterfinals of the $500,000 China Open tennis tournament.

Ljubicic, seeded fourth this week, outlasted Baghdatis, the No. 5 seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) and earned a spot in the semifinals of the hard-court tournament. The decision snapped Baghdatis’ seven-match winning streak at the China Open and marked the first time in four career meetings that Ljubicic beat Baghdatis.

Second-seeded Fernando Gonzalez also needed a third set Friday to advance, beating sixth-seeded Lee Hyung-taik 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4.

Also Friday, third-seeded Tommy Robredo swept No. 8 Igor Kunitsyn 6-3, 6-1; and wild-card entry Nicolas Kiefer ousted Marin Cilic, 6-3, 7-5. Kiefer upset top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko on Thursday’s second round.

Gonzalez is to play Ljubicic in the semifinals Saturday while Robredo is set against Kiefer in the other match.

The tournament finals are set for Sunday with the champion earning $69,200.