Mannarino breaks through at Open de Moselle

Oct 3, 2008 - 8:44 PM METZ, France (Ticker) -- Adrian Mannarino is having the tournament of his life at the Open de Moselle.

The 181st-ranked French qualifier advanced to the semifinals of the hardcourt event of Friday with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) win over compatriot Marc Gicquel.

The 20-year-old Mannarino, who had not won an ATP-level match before an upset win over No. 6 seed Andreas Seppi in the opening round here, is suddenly a victory away from his first final.

Mannarino's semifinal opponent will be fourth-seeded compatriot Paul Henri-Mathieu, who defeated Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

The 26-year-old Mathieu, who fired 12 aces, is through to the semifinals for the second time in his fifth appearance here and will look to reach the final for the first time after falling to Jerome Haehnel in 2004.

The semifinals on the opposite side of the draw will pit No. 5 Dmitry Tursunov of Russia against seventh-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek, who won the only previous meeting between the pair.

Tursunov posted a 6-3, 6-3 victory over former No. 1 Carlos Moya - who upset top seed Ivo Karlovic a round earlier - while Stepanek had to rally for a 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 win over Eduardo Schwank of Argentina.

A four-time champion, Tursunov won his most recent title earlier this year in Sydney. Stepanek, meanwhile, has not won since capturing the second title of his career at Los Angeles in July 2007.

First prize is $85,500.