American Andre Agassi has continued his march toward the French Open by reaching the semifinals of the Tennis Master Series clay court tournament in Rome.
Agassi, the sixth seed and the remaining American in the draw, scored a straight-sets win over Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty (6-3, 6-3).
Agassi has not won a tournament since August, and next he takes on French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria of Argentina, a three-set winner over Fernando Verdasco of Spain (3-6, 6-3, 6-3).
Meanwhile, Spain's David Ferrer reached the semifinals thanks to a three-set win over countryman Alberto Martin (6-2, 3-6, 7-5). Martin wasted three match points while serving in the third set, and Ferrer was able to come back to win his 17th match this season.
Ferrer plays red-hot countryman Rafael Nadal, a three-set winner over Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic (5-7, 6-1, 6-1). Nadal has won 15 matches in a row and four tournaments so far this year.
The clay-court tournament is one of several events that players are using to prepare for the French Open, which starts May 23 in Paris.
Some information for this report provided by AP
