/world sport
KITZBUEHEL, Austria (Reuters) -- Argentine fifth seed Juan Monaco upset Spanish top seed Tommy Robredo 6-2 2-6 6-2 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Austrian Open.
World number seven and top seed Robredo twice lost five games on the spin as he crashed to defeat in Austria.
Robredo, the world number seven, began strongly, breaking Monaco early in the first set to go 2-1 up with serve.
He then lost the next five games as the Argentine world number 32 rallied impressively with a series of strong returns and aggressive ground strokes.
Robredo seemed to regain control with a commanding second set performance but Monaco then stormed ahead with another five-game winning streak. The Spanish favorite clung on a while longer but was unable to turn the match around.
"I knew Robredo would be the favorite and I know he likes to fight so I tried to be aggressive and go to the net as often as possible," said Monaco who has already won two tournaments this season, including another Austrian claycourt event in Poertschach.
Monaco will take on 11th seed Fernando Verdasco for a place in the final after the Spaniard saw off unseeded Argentine Sergio Roitman 7-6 3-6 6-3.
Defending champion and fellow Argentine Agustin Calleri made it through to the last four with a 7-6 6-1 win over Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti.
The second set was little more than a formality with Calleri dropping just three points on serve and breaking Lapentti three times.
Calleri is now due to meet 10th seed Potito Starace for a place in Sunday's final. Starace came from behind to win his all-Italian quarterfinal with unseeded Andreas Seppi 1-6 7-5 7-6. E-mail to a friend 
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