Unseeded defending champion Xavier Malisse of Belgium was sent packing by fourth seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny, while Croat Marin Cilic beat Robin Hasse of the Netherlands to fill the last two slots in the singles semi-finals of the Chennai Open ATP tennis tournament in Chennai on Friday.
Youzhny defeated Malisse with a break each in a 6-4, 6-4 win to set up a clash with Cilic, who prevailed over Hasse 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 108 minutes in another quarter-final match. Rain had forced the start of the matches to be unduly delayed.
Among the players in contention, Cilic is the only one to figure in both the singles and doubles semi-finals.
With top seed and world number two Rafael Nadal giving enough indications of living up to his billing as tournament favourite with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Spanish compatriot Gulliermo Garcia Lopez, it means a Spaniard is sure to be a finalist. Nadal will take on Carlos Moya, who scored over 92nd ranked Florent Serra (France) 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the semi-finals.