Falla in Lyon Grand semis

Lyon, France:

Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla outlasted Number 5 seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7-5, 6-7 (3), 7-5 Friday to reach the semifinals of the Lyon Grand Prix on Friday.

The hard-serving Ljubicic served 30 aces, but never broke Falla, who had one double fault in the 2-1/2-hour clash on the carpet of Gerland stadium in the southeastern French city.

The Colombian is the most surprising story of the Lyon tournament, and will be the only non-Frenchman in the semifinals.

On Saturday, Falla will meet Marc Gicquel, who won 7-5, 6-3 over Diego Hartfield of Argentina, who struggled with a 46 percent first-serve percentage and never had a break point.

Sebastien Grosjean needed more than two-and-a-half hours to win 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (4) over fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau, who was unable to convert any of five break-point opportunities.

Grosjean will meet Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who eliminated Belgium's Olivier Rochus, 6-3, 6-2 in less than an hour.