Defending champion
Florent Serra and fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu advanced to the semifinals in Bucharest Friday.
The second-seeded Serra took care of Germany's
Florian Mayer 6-3, 7-6(5) for a spot in his third semifinal of the season while Mathieu easily beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-4.
The 25-year-old Serra, who won his first career title in Bucharest last year, will next take on fifth-seeded
Filippo Volandri, a winner over the third-seeded
Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-3.
Volandri, a Buenos Aires finalist this year, lost to Serra in their last meeting at Bucharest last year.
Mathieu will be looking to advance to his first ATP final since Palermo in 2003 as he takes on Austrian lefty
Jurgen Melzer. Melzer was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo to earn him his fourth semifinal of the season.
In their lone prior meeting, Melzer defeated Mathieu in Palermo 2002.
