Friday 25 July 2014 23:07, UK
Top seed Fabio Fognini survived a scare as he won through to the semi-finals of the Vegeta Croatia Open in Umag on Friday.
Fognini, a beaten finalist in last year’s tournament, had to come from a set down before beating 17-year-old wildcard Borna Coric 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.
The Italian will next face recent Swedish Open champion Pablo Cuevas, who was also made to battle before he prevailed 6-3 4-6 6-2 against Teymuraz Gabashvili.
"I did not play my best tennis, he was better than me (for a) big part of the match. I was fighting for every point even though I did not feel very well," Fognini said.
But it was much easier for defending champion and No 2 seed Tommy Robredo, who needed just 78 minutes to cruise past Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1 6-4.
Robredo’s last four opponent will be home favourite Marin Cilic after the third seed hit ten aces as he overwhelmed fifth seed Lukas Rosol 6-0 6-2 in 63 minutes.
