Ferrer ousted by Dolgopolov in Nice quarters

Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine reached the Open de Nice semifinals when he upset top-seeded David Ferrer for the first time 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 on Thursday.

Dolgopolov held his nerve in the deciding set, taking Ferrer's serve on the only chance he had to reach his third semifinal of the season - all of them on clay. He'd lost to Ferrer in their previous three matches.

An Australian Open quarterfinalist this year, Dolgopolov will next play Victor Hanescu of Romania, who advanced when Robin Haase of the Netherlands retired from their quarterfinal with a right ankle injury while trailing 6-2, 2-0.

Second-seeded Tomas Berdych easily beat Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-1, 6-4. Gulbis lost his serve four times.

The Czech has been in consistent form this season, reaching three semifinals and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. He was still looking for his first title this season, while his opponent, third-seeded Nicolas Almagro, has already won two.

Almagro reached the last four by beating fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-1, 6-4, breaking Andujar five times.