BARCELONA, Spain—Kei Nishikori of Japan and Ernests Gulbis of Latvia overpowered opponents to reach the Barcelona Open semifinals on Friday.
Fourth-seeded Nishikori continued his good run since returning from a groin injury with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Marin Cilic of Croatia.
He goes on to play ninth-seeded Gulbis after the Latvian dismissed Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia 6-1, 6-4.
Gulbis saved all five break points against Gabashvili, who had knocked out fifth-ranked David Ferrer.
Late Friday, eight-time champion Rafael Nadal faced fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in a rematch of last year's final.
The winner of that quarterfinal plays either Philipp Kohlschreiber or Santiago Giraldo.