Fourth seed David Ferrer roared back from a shaky start to cruise into the Monte Carlo Masters final with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Juergen Melzer.
Austria's Melzer was inspired when beating Roger Federer to prevent the top four seeds all reaching the semi-finals at the beachside Monte Carlo Country Club, but he was only half as potent against the dogged Spaniard.
Melzer broke early for 2-1 as Ferrer struggled with his first serve but the Austrian inexplicably let his opponent back in by losing his serve twice, with a double fault effectively sealing his fate in the first set.
Bandana-wearing Ferrer, bidding for a 12th career title and third this year, extended his record over Melzer to four wins in six meetings after the seventh seed was broken to love in the fifth game of the second set before losing his serve again.
The world number six produced a succession of powerful winners to delight the crowd and the latecomers, who clambered up the galleries looking for rare empty seats as the previous day's windy conditions were quickly forgotten thanks to bright sunshine.
Top seed and world number one Rafa Nadal, aiming to extend his record and win the same tournament for a seventh straight time, meets British third seed Andy Murray in the second semi-final.
- Reuters
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