Defending champion James Blake of the U.S. rallied to beat Olivier Rochus 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 on Friday to reach the semifinals at the Stockholm Open.
Fifth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen also won his quarter-final, beating Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 7-5 for the Finn's third consecutive straight-set victory in the indoor tournament at Royal Tennis Hall.
Nieminen will next meet wild card Joachim Johansson, who saved three match points before edging seventh-seeded Kristof Vliegen of Belgium 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7). Johansson, in his first ATP event since February, was ranked 690th entering the tournament. The Swede upset top-seeded Rafael Nadal in the first round.
After splitting the first two sets, Blake broke to lead 3-2 in the third set when Rochus' forehand sailed long at 30-40.
The second-seeded American then held to love and broke the Belgian again to lead 5-2 after a sizzling return.
Robin Soderling gained the final semifinal spot with 6-3, 6-2 win over third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. The eighth-seeded will Swede meet Blake on Saturday.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
