Ferrer closes in on another Barcelona Open final

Barcelona, Spain: David Ferrer moved a step closer to reaching his third straight Barcelona Open final after beating Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 6-0 on Friday.

The eighth-seeded Ferrer, who lost to five-time champion Rafael Nadal in his two final appearances, broke his Brazilian opponent four times to reach the semifinal for a fourth consecutive time. The 17th-ranked Spaniard will play either Fernando Verdasco or Ernests Gulbis of Latvia next.

Second-seeded Robin Soderling plays Eduardo Schwank of Argentina later before 10th-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga faces Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker on the outdoor clay.