(July 26, 2013) -- A day after
Roger Federer battled a bad back in his losing effort at the Credit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad, another Swiss player dealt with the same issue to the dismay of the local crowd.
No. 2 seed
Stanislas Wawrinka found himself in a close quarterfinal contest with No. 5 seed
Feliciano Lopez of Spain. Both men split sets, but it was Wawrinka who called a medical timeout midway through the third set because of back pain.
Wawrinka eventually retired with Lopez advancing into the semifinals 6-4, 2-6, 4-3. The Swiss No. 2 later said that he dealt with back pains both in Den Bosch and Wimbledon earlier in the season.
"It’s unfortunate that this happens here. I always want to do extremely well here and I’m disappointed it went like this today. I’ve been playing well this year so far and I really wanted to do well here too," Wawrinka said to ATP.com
Next for Lopez is
Robin Haase of the Netherlands who reached his second ATP semi of the season. Haase, not known for winning tiebreak sets, managed to win one when he needed it as he closed out
Marcel Granollers 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(5).
Youzhny Saves Three Match Points to Reach Semis
Earlier in the day, No. 6 seed
Mikhail Youzhny saved three match points in a tight meeting with No. 4 seed
Juan Monaco. Youzhny came back from being down twice in a final set tiebreak to prevail 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(7).
Youzhny will now face 2008 Gstaad champion
Victor Hanescu in the semis. Hanescu ousted the man who defeated Federer,
Daniel Brands, with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win.
Follow Erik on Twitter
@ATNtennis