Top-seeded Mariano Puerta was ousted 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 Friday by 2004 runner-up
Igor Andreev at the ATP claycourt stop in Bucharest.
"The first set was very difficult, he broke me in the last game," Andreev said. "I changed a little bit of tactics in the second set and he started to make a few mistakes. I continued to play well at the same level and this is a very good victory for me."
Two of Romania's own advanced into the semifinals in (3)
Andrei Pavel (d. Mayer) and (4) Victor Hanescu (d. Ramirez Hidalgo).
"I feel more motivated when I am playing at home," Hanescu said. "A Romanian final seems much closer, but there are still some hard matches to be played."
Also into the semis was unseeded
Florent Serra, who toppled (7) Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3, 6-1.
Saturday's match-ups in Bucharest are (4) Hanescu vs. Andreev, and (3) Pavel vs. Florent.
