Tommy Robredo is two matches away from defending his title at the Croatia Open…
The 32-year-old Spanish tennis player, who defeated Fabio Fognini in the finals last year, advanced to the semifinals after beating fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-4.
The 18th-ranked Robredo next faces third-seeded Marin Cilic, who eased past Czech Lukas Rosol 6-0, 6-2.
Robredo won the first set in only 23 minutes. Carreno Busta was twice a break up in the second set before Robredo responded to win the last three games of the match.
Meanwhile, Fognini, the tournament’s top seed this year, rallied to defeat Borna Coric of Croatia 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
Also, Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay beat Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to become the first qualifier in the event’s semifinals since Viktor Troicki in 2007.
Cuevas hit 12 aces for his sixth straight win in Umag, including three qualifying rounds.
He’ll next play Fognini, who was one set and a break down before he managed to turn the match around.
