Luis Horna of Peru on Friday defeated top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 1-6, 6-7 (2) and will face third-seed Guillermo Coria of Argentina in the semifinals of the Idea Prokom Open.
"I didn't think I was playing with the No. 1 in the world," said Horna after the game. "I treated him as any other rival and I simply wanted to win at any cost."
Ferrero, who was bidding for a fourth title this year, was beaten by a more aggressive and accurate rival with a better serve. The second set was a fierce fight, with Horna playing in a risky way that paid off.
"I lost to a rival who is in a great form," said Ferrero. "Horna played very aggressively. I could have played better in the first set. In the second set I played well but the rival was simply better."
"I'd come to Sopot to win and I'm very sorry I lost but one does not win all the time," said Ferrero. "I'm not a machine."
Coria who outlasted eight-seed Olivier Mutis of France 6-3, 6-4 said Ferrero's defeat was "a big surprise."
"I watched their game, and in the semifinals I will have a very difficult task," said Coria.
In women's semifinals, third-seeded Anna Pistolesi outlasted No. 2 Patty Schnyder 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the final against Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic.
"I've never played with Koukalova," Pistolesi said of Saturday's showdown. "The only thing I know about her is that she hits the ball very strongly."
Koukalova rallied to upset eighth-seeded Petra Mandula 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the semifinals. Koukalova also beat Mandula en route to her last appearance in a WTA Tour final, at Casablanca 13 months ago.
Mandula seemed set to win after leading 6-4, 3-0, but lapsed into unforced errors.
Pistolesi, who beat defending champion Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals, reached her seventh career final. The Israeli, a 12-year pro, has won all six of her previous finals, including four last year.
After losing the first set, Pistolesi broke to 3-0 in the second. Schnyder fought back with powerful crosses and drophots to win the next four games. But Pistolesi regained control and forced errors from the Swiss.
"It was a tiring game on a high level," Pistolesi said. "Only a couple of hits decided about my victory."
Koukalova will play for her first championship in her third career final.
"Advancing to the finals in Sopot is the biggest success in my career," she said.
In other men's quarterfinals, David Ferrer of Spain defeated Andreas Vinciguerra of Sweden 6-1, 6-2, and will next meet Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, who beat Spanish compatriot Galo Blanco 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-0. Ferrer has a 3-0 record against Ramirez Hidalgo.
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