Umag, Croatia – Top-seeded former champion Fernando Verdasco and second-seeded Croatian favorite Marin Cilic were easy quarterfinal winners Friday at the Croatia Open tennis event.
The Spanish lefthander Verdasco, who titled here in 2008, blew past Russian wild card Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2, 6-2, while last year's Umag runner-up Cilic popped eight aces in handling American Wayne Odesnik 6-4, 6-0 on the red clay at ATP Stadium.
Cilic lost to Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in last year's finale here and will get the chance to avenge that defeat on Saturday. The big Croat will take on the third-seeded Dolgopolov, who doused fifth-seeded Argentine Carlos Berlocq 6-4, 6-4 on Friday.
The other semi will pit Verdasco against fourth-seeded fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers, who overcame German Matthias Bachinger 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Day 5.
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