Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bounces Marin Cilic, advances to semis at Rotterdam

Sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga eliminated top-seeded Marin Cilic 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5) on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the World Tennis Tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Tsonga delivered 12 aces while outlasting the Croatian. It marked just the second time in seven meetings that the Frenchman defeated Cilic.

"I'm really happy with the victory as the most important thing is that I played good tennis from the start to the end," Tsonga said. "I have been feeling great the past couple of months, including a quarterfinal at the Australian Open. Marin is a very good player and difficult to play against as he has an all-round game."

Tsonga will face fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the semifinals. Berdych rolled to a 6-3, 6-3 win over defending champion Martin Klizan of Slovakia.

"It was my best performance so far," Berdych said of his tournament run. "It was a goal every match to try to improve. So far, I am very pleased. It's a good feeling to be in another (Rotterdam) semifinal, as I know I can play good tennis on this court."

Third-seeded David Goffin of Belgium advanced with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.

Goffin faces qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France in the semis. Herbert stunned second-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-4, 7-6 (3).