Top-seeded Rafael Nadal dismissed Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-2 to set up a Hamburg Open Final against Fabio Fognini of Italy.
The fourth-seeded Fogini beat qualifier lucas Pouille 6-2, 7-6 (3) after saving a set point in the second set.
Nadal is looking to extend his streak of having won at least one European clay court title every year since 2004. The former No. 1 has dropped to 10th in the rankings and is playing his first tournament since losing in the second round of Wimbledon. He won in Hamburg in 2008, the last time he played in the clay-court event.
Nadal served a double-fault at match point in the seventh game before breaking serve in the next to win.
He holds a 4-2 career edge over Fognini, the 2013 Hamburg champion.
Isner in Atlanta Open Final
Atlanta: Two-time defending champion John Isner ran his Atlanta Open winning streak to 10 matches on Friday, riding his big serve to a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Ricardis Berankis.
The top-seeded Isner had 19 aces less than 24 hours after ripping off 33 in a two-set victory over Radek Stepanek. Isner will face training partner Denis Kudla in his 34th ATP Tour semifinal. Kudla, a qualifier, beat Dudi Sela 7-5, 6-0 to reach his first ATP semifinal.
In the night quarterfinals, seventh-seeded Gilles Muller of luxemborg beat Japan’s Go Soeda 7-5, 6-1, and fifth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus topped second-seeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada 6-4, 7-5 (5).
Isner is trying to reach the Atlanta final for the fifth time in six years. He lost in the finals in 2010 and 2011, fell in the 2012 semifinals to eventual champion Andy Roddick, and won the past two years.
Serena withdraws
Stanford (California): World No. 1 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the upcoming Bank of the West Classic because of an elbow injury she says must get “back to 100 per cent.”
The tournament announced her withdrawal on Friday. It runs August 3-9 at Stanford University.
Serena’s good friend Caroline Wozniacki will be the top seed.
Goffin vs thiem in gstaad
Gstaad (Switzerland): David Goffin of Belgium eased to a 6-4, 6-2 win against Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in the Swiss Open semifinals on Saturday. In Sunday’s final, Goffin will face Dominic Thiem of Austria. Thiem beat Feliciano lopez of Spain 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3.