By Chris Oddo | Friday April 8, 2016

 

Czech Jiri Vesely knocked off top-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in Marrakech to reach the semis.

Photo Source: TennisTV

A pair of former champions were sent packing on quarterfinal Friday at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Morocco, including the top seed.

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22-year-old Jiri Vesely did the honors of taking out 2014 champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the day’s final quarterfinal, 6-4, 7-6(2). Vesely has now won three straight matches after entering the draw with a 1-7 record on the season. Vesely saved all three break points he faced and won 41 of 49 first serve points to win for the first time against the Spaniard.

Vesely moves on to face third-seeded Borna Coric in the semis.

Coric took down 2007 champion Paul Henri-Mathieu, 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4, in a battle that lasted three hours and six minutes.

Coric served 12 aces and saved seven of eight break points to reach his second semifinal of the season.

"It was a very tough match, obviously," said Coric, according to ATPWorldTour.com. "I didn't feel confident as I had yet to play a match here, so I was a little nervous. I was extremely happy how I played, but I was a little unlucky in the tie-break when I didn't play well on the important points.”

35-year-old Albert Montanes became the lone unseeded player to reach the semis with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Facundo Bagnis, setting up a semifinal with 4th-seeded Federico Delbonis.

Delbonis improved to 13-7 on the season with a 7-5, 6-2 win over 7th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta.