Ferrer reaches semi-finals at Monte Carlo Masters

David Ferrer advanced to the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters by beating 11th-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-3, 6-3 on Friday.

The fourth-seeded Spaniard missed a chance to close out the match on serve when Troicki broke him in the eighth game of the second set, but Ferrer broke back to reach his fourth semi-final of the season.

The Australian Open semi-finalist has won two titles this year and next plays either Roger Federer or seventh-seeded Jurgen Melzer.

Also, six-time defending champion Rafael Nadal was to play Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, and third-seeded Andy Murray of Britain was to face Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil.