VIENNA, Austria - Gael Monfils upset second-seeded Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-6 (2) Friday to reach the semifinals of the BA Tennis Trophy.
The eighth-seeded Frenchman will next play Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, who defeated No. 5 Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-2, 6-3. "I am very happy because I was focused from the first ball to the last," said Monfils, who reached his fourth semifinal of the year. "I tried to be aggressive because he (Gonzalez) is a fighter who becomes dangerous if you let him play."
Also through was Feliciano Lopez of Spain, who rallied to beat Juergen Melzer of Austria 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Lopez next plays Philipp Petzschner of Germany, who defeated Carlos Moya of Spain 6-4, 6-2 to reach his first ever semifinal.
Gonzalez, who lost the 2006 final to Ivan Ljubicic, was in his third quarter-final match in as many weeks.
From 3-3 and 0-15 in the opening set, Monfils won 12 straight points to close it out. The second set went with serve until 5-5 when Monfils converted his first break point.
Monfils failed to serve out the match, but went up 6-0 in the tiebreaker and finally converted his third match point when Gonzalez netted a forehand.
Kohlschreiber's win over Verdasco earned him his third semifinal appearance of the season - he won in Auckland, New Zealand, and reached the final in Halle, Germany.
The 32nd-ranked German conceded only 10 points on his serve and didn't face a break point. He had two breaks against Verdasco's serve in each set.
Kohlschreiber had a bye in the second round after Juan Martin del Potro pulled out with a toe injury.
Lopez, who was 0-2 against Melzer, lost the opening set but started to control the match in the second.
"I served pretty good and was consistent from the baseline, especially in the second and third set," Lopez said.
In both the second and final set, Lopez used the only break point he got against Melzer's serve. The Austrian missed two chances to level the score.
"I completely lost my rhythm," Melzer said. "He used a lot of slice which kept the ball low so I couldn't put any pressure on him."
Lopez, who won his only ATP tour title so far in Vienna in 2004, will play Petzschner for a place in the final.
Petzschner, who eliminated top-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka in the opening round, had 10 aces and held serve throughout against Moya.
The former top-ranked Spaniard, at 32 the oldest player in the draw, has won at least one ATP title for the last eight years.