David Ferrer moved closer to his fifth ATP final of the season as he eased into the last four of the ATP Portugal Open in Oeiras with a straight-sets win over Victor Hanescu.
Spaniard Ferrer, who has already lifted titles in Auckland and Buenos Aires so far in 2013, did not have it all his own way against his Romanian opponent but eventually prevailed 6-4 7-6 (7/2) in one hour and 40 minutes.
Next up for the top seed is Italian Andreas Seppi, who has yet to win in four meetings with Ferrer.
Seppi, the third seed, prevented an all-Spanish semi-final with a 6-4 6-3 victory over eighth seed Tommy Robredo, the 2005 runner-up here.
It was a better day for another Spaniard, though, as qualifier Pablo Carreno-Busta continued his impressive run with an upset victory over fourth seed Fabio Fognini.
Carreno-Busta, who beat fifth-seeded Julien Benneteau in the opening round, battled back from a set down to beat his Italian opponent 3-6 6-4 6-4 and claim his maiden appearance in the last four of an ATP tournament.
Carreno-Busta’s victory prevented the semi-final spots being filled by all of the top four seeds as his next opponent, number two Stanislas Wawrinka, also progressed through.
The Swiss, whose only final appearance so far this year saw him beaten by Ferrer in Buenos Aires, brushed aside Portugal’s Gastao Elias 6-4 6-4.
Wawrinka said on www.atpworldtour.com: “I feel good and I am really happy to be in the semi-finals again.
“I am confident in my form this year. It is better than last season. I hope I can get some more big results.”
In the women’s event, Saturday’s final will be contested between third seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and number four Carla Suarez-Navarro.
Pavlyuchenkova had looked to be heading for the exit door after losing the first set to love against in-form Swiss Romina Oprandi but the Russian battled back for a 0-6 6-3 6-1 triumph.
In comparison, Spaniard Suarez-Navarro had a much more comfortable passage through to the title match as she defeated Estonian Kaia Kanepi 6-4 6-1
Pavlyuchenkova, who has won all of her previous four meetings with Suarez Navarro, is playing in her first clay court final.