BARCELONA, April 28: Tommy Robredo had to beat two opponents on Friday before he reached the semifinals of the Open Seat Godo.

The sixth-seeded Spaniard won four games to one in the third set to defeat Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in their rain-delayed, third-round match. He then topped fourth-seeded Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-2.

The 59th-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka also advanced by beating 2.09-meter (6-foot-10) Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

''When I play Karlovic it is very difficult, because he has such a good serve all I could do was hang onto my game as long as possible and try to wear him down,'' Wawrinka said.

In another quarterfinal Rafael Nadal overcame the loss of first set to beat Jarkko Nieminen 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.—Agencies