Almagro into last four

Defending champion Nicolas Almagro remains on course to retain his Brasil Open title in Sao Paulo.

Few problems for top seed in Sao Paulo quarter-finals

Defending champion Nicolas Almagro remains on course to retain his Brasil Open title in Sao Paulo. The Spaniard only dropped five games against Carlos Berlocq on Friday, posting a 6-3 6-2 win to set up a semi-final meeting with Albert Ramos. Top seed Almagro only offered up one break point throughout the contest and finished things off in an hour and 30 minutes. "I played great, now it's about resting," he said. Ramos booked his last-four berth with a straight-sets win over Fernando Verdasco, the third seed. Never really in his stride during the tournament, Verdasco was unable to take a first-set tie-break and went on to lose 7-6 (7/5) 6-3. The other semi-final will be played out between Filippo Volandri and fourth seed Thomaz Bellucci. Volandri came from a set down to beat David Nalbandian 3-6 6-3 7-5, while Bellucci did the same, seeing off Leonardo Mayer 3-6 6-2 7-5.