Posted at 6:19 a.m., Friday, July 13, 2007
Tennis: Andreev stops Gasquet to reach Swiss semis
Associated Press
GSTAAD, Switzerland — Igor Andreev ousted defending champion Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-2 Friday at the Swiss Open to reach his first semifinal of the season.The Russian wild card, who turns 24 on Saturday, also upset eighth-seeded Potito Starace in the second round. Andreev will face Andreas Seppi, who defeated Martin Vassalla Arguello 6-4, 6-0.
The 21-year-old Gasquet reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon last week, defeating Andy Roddick before losing to eventual champion Roger Federer. He improved his ranking to a career-best No. 7.
Radek Stepanek defeated sixth-seeded Marc Gicquel 6-3, 6-3.
Stepanek, a 28-year-old Czech qualifier, is slowly climbing in the rankings after a back injury sidelined him last year. He's now 127th after reaching a career-high No. 8 a year ago.
Stepanek will play either Paul-Henri Mathieu or Gael Monfils _ who defeated top-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the opening round.
