Mannarino breaks through in Metz

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:04

The 181st-ranked French qualifier recorded a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) win over compatriot Marc Gicquel to move to within a victory of his first final.

The 20-year-old Mannarino had not won an ATP-level match before an upset win over number six seed Andreas Seppi in the opening round here.

Mannarino’s semi-final 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 semi-finals 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 semi-finals on the opposite side of the draw will pit number five 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 number one 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.

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