David Ferrer has advanced to the semi-finals of the Rome Masters with a straight-sets win over Richard Gasquet this afternoon.
Ferrer drew first blood when he broke the Frenchman in the fifth game of the first set thanks to a couple of unforced errors from his opponent.
However, Gasquet, who defeated Andy Murray to reach the last eight, responded by breaking to level at 4-4 and eventually take the set to a tiebreak.
The Spaniard took the shootout 7-4 but Gasquet again reacted strongly by breaking Ferrer in the opening game of the second set.
His lead did not last long though as the world number six showed some fight of his own to steal a game from Gasquet's serve immediately after.
From then on, the encounter went with serve until Ferrer claimed a decisive break in the eighth game, before going on to secure a 7-6 6-3 victory.
The 30-year-old will now face either compatriot Rafael Nadal or Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals.
Joe Fish
