Hot Almagro reaches semis in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Seeking a second straight Buenos Aires title and a second championship overall in two weeks, Nicolas Almagro booked a spot in Saturday's semifinals at the Copa Claro tennis event.

The second-seeded world No. 11 Almagro handled Russian qualifier Igor Andreev 6-3, 7-5 on the red clay at Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club. The Spanish Almagro popped eight aces and broke Andreev four times en route to another victory.

Almagro topped Argentine favorite Juan Ignacio Chela in last year's Buenos Aires finale and is fresh off his clay-court title in Sao Paulo last week.

Up next for Almagro will be sixth-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, who eased into the final four by ousting fourth-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-2 on Day 5.

The 2012 Buenos Aires champion will earn $82,900.