BARCELONA, Spain, April 25 (UPI) -- Spanish top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero recovered from a second-set deficit Friday and reached the semifinals of the Open Seat Godo with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten.
The clash of claycourt power players lasted 1 hour, 23 minutes, with Ferrero recovering from a 1-4 hole in the second set and 0-30 deficits in each of his last two service games.
Kuerten, a three-time French Open champion, has beaten the Spaniard both times they have met at Roland Garros. Ferrero improved his record in the series to 3-2 overall, winning his second in a row against Kuerten.
Ferrero won his ninth match in a row, a run which includes his road to the title last weekend in Monte Carlo.
In a battle of former Barcelona champions, Ferrero will face Russian Marat Safin on Saturday.
Safin ousted defending champion Gaston Gaudio of Argentina, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, in 2 hours, 44 minutes, with the Russian saving two match points late in the evening.
Ferrero owns the 2001 honors at the Real Club de Tenis, while Safin, who learned the game in Spain as a teen-ager, claimed the trophy in 2000.
"I dealt very well with the pressure," Ferrero said. "I served well and that helped me a lot."
Kuerten lost the first set but looked ready to storm through the second and make a match of it as he took a 4-1 lead.
But that was a mere challenge to the 22-year-old Ferrero, who broke back in the seventh game and battled out of trouble twice on the way to victory.
"I wasn't comfortable in the first set, it was my first time on the center court," the Brazilian said. "But it got better in the second, even if I didn't win. But he never dominated me and I'm happy with the state of my game.
"I'll spend next week getting ready for Rome."
Ferrero termed the match "one of our quickest. It was hard-hiting. Just a few shots and a few mistakes made the difference today."
Second seed Carlos Moya kept Nikolay Davydenko on the defensive advancing with a near-flawless 6-3, 6-4 victory over the Russian.
Moya, who could meet Ferrero for the title, has never won in the Catalan capital. His closest call was the 2001 finale, when he lost to his fellow Spaniard.
A native of Mallorca, Moya will play Saturday against Agustin Calleri after the 16th-seeded Argentine ousted 12th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo, 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 6-4.
