BUCHAREST, Romania, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Top seed Andrei Pavel sailed to a 6-1, 6-3 victory Friday over Spanish qualifier Juan Giner in the quarterfinals of the Romania Open.
Pavel has not won a title since his victory at the Tennis Masters Series Canada in Montreal in July. He needed just 78 minutes to defeat his third straight Spanish foe this week.
The 28-year-old from Constanza, Romania advanced to his second semifinal of the season. He was a semifinalist at Chennai in January and a quarterfinalist at four other events, including the French Open.
"I beat three Spanish players, which means I have fought a lot on court," Pavel said. "I tried to play my game today. I got some tips from several coaches on how to play (Giner). Now I'm waiting for an Argentinean.
"I hope that the support of the crowd will help me to reach the final here. That would be very sweet."
Pavel's next foe will be fifth seed Jose Acasuso of Argentina, who beat his countryman Franco Squillari, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4). Acasuso won his first ATP crown at Sopot in July.
"It was a tough match," Acasuso said. "I played very well in the beginning and I won the first set easily. Then it got much tougher in the second set. It's going to be very difficult (Saturday). Pavel is a great player and he will have an advantage by playing in Romania in front of his own people."
Seventh seed David Sanchez topped fellow Spaniard Galo Blanco, 6-1, 6-3, to reach his first ATP semifinal. Sanchez had lost five straight matches before coming to Bucharest. He will face another countryman, David Ferrer, on Saturday.
Ferrer defeated Arnaud DiPasquale of France, 6-3, 6-1, to move into his second career semifinal. The 20-year-old was runner-up to Carlos Moya at Umag in July.
