Teimuraz Gabashvili played Gasquet evenly in the first set, eventually taking it in an 8-6 tiebreaker. But Gasquet, ranked 12th in the world and seeded first in Bucharest, took over after that, dropping just two games and facing just one break point the rest of the way in the 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 6-1 win over Gabashvili.

Second-seeded Gilles Simon, the event's defending champion, also won Friday in a steady 6-2, 6-3 match against Florent Serra.

In other quarterfinal matches, sixth-seeded Carlos Moya stopped Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 and eighth-seeded Jose Acasuso beat Ivan Navarro 6-4, 6-4.

Gasquet is to play Moya in Saturday's semifinals. Moya is 2-0 in his career against Gasquet. Simon owns a 3-0 lifetime edge against Acasuso, his semifinal opponent.

The clay-court tournament is to conclude Sunday.