Stockholm, Sweden (SportsNetwork.com) - David Ferrer reached the semifinals of the Stockholm Open in a walkover Friday, while the next two seeds weren't as fortunate.
The top-seeded Ferrer advanced when fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco was unable to play because of an abdominal strain.
Second-seeded Milos Raonic and third-seeded Jerzy Janowicz, however, were each beaten Friday. Benoit Paire of France knocked off Raonic with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 triumph, while Latvia's Ernests Gulbis went the distance in a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win over Janowicz.
The fifth-seeded Gulbis has already won twice this year, in Delray Beach back in March and last month in St. Petersburg, Russia. He'll meet Ferrer next, also a two-time winner in 2013.
Ferrer won in Auckland in January and Buenos Aires in February. He's reached four finals since, losing in Acapulco to Rafael Nadal, Miami to Andy Murray, Portugal to Stan Wawrinka and the French Open to Nadal.
The sixth-seeded Paire will meet seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in Saturday's semifinals. Dimitrov advanced with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Kenny De Schepper.
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