AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Sixth-seeded David Nalbandian beat defending champion John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Thursday to reach the Heineken Open semifinals.
Isner appeared to be troubled by an arm injury in the Australian Open tuneup event. The American needed treatment on his upper arm or shoulder, but still had eight aces and put 78 percent of first serves in play.
Nalbandian will face No. 2 Nicolas Almagro, a 7-6 (3), 6-7 (1), 6-2 winner over Adrian Mannarino.
In the other quarterfinals, top-seeded David Ferrer beat eighth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, and seventh-seeded Thomaz Bellucci faced Santiago Giraldo.
Ferrer won the Auckland title in 2007 and Kohlschreiber took the 2008 championship.
"It was another tough match," Ferrer said. "I'm happy in the first tournament of the year to be in the semifinals. It's not easy when you miss two matchpoints but I wasn't afraid. I served well in the late stages of the match, when it was important."
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.