Lapentti saves five match points

BASTAD, Sweden, July 11 (UPI) -- Nicolas Lapentti saved five match points Friday en route to his first semifinal appearance in an ATP Tour event in more than a year.

Lapentti outlasted Spanish teen-ager Rafael Nadal, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

A 26-year-old from Ecuador, Lapennti lost six of the first seven points in the tiebreaker but won the last seven to make his first semifinal since he claimed the St. Poelten title last season.

Also Friday, top seed Carlos Moya of Spain continued the defense of his title by knocking off the last of the crowd favorites, Jonas Bjorkman, 6-4, 6-3.

Moya's semifinal opponent will be fifth seed Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina, who rallied for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over fourth seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.