Vienna, Austria (SportsNetwork.com) - Former champions Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tommy Haas were quarterfinal winners Friday at the Erste Bank Open.
The top-seeded Tsonga struggled past crowd favorite Dominic Thiem, finally beating the Austrian wild card in a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) triumph, while the second-seeded Haas gutted out a 7-6 (12-10), 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek.
Tsonga, who won this tournament in 2011, is a semifinalist for the second straight week. He fell in the round of four to Novak Djokovic last Saturday in Shanghai. The Frenchman will next face Dutchman Robin Haase, who rallied for a 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-1 win over third-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy.
Haas won this event in 2001 and was the runner-up the previous year. The German veteran will next meet eighth-seeded Czech Lukas Rosol, a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 winner over Belgian qualifier Ruben Bemelmans.
The winner of this event will earn $122,000.
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