By Erik Gudris | Friday, June 13, 2014

 

Stan Wawrinka advanced into the Queen's Club semifinals. Tomas Berdych however found himself exiting earlier than expected.

Photo Credit: AP

At the Aegon Championships in London, old school grass court tennis is alive and well.

That's due in large part to the crafty all-court play of two veterans who find themselves in the final four of the longstanding tournament held before Wimbledon each year. Yet top seed Stan Wawrinka is proving he may be the one to beat for the coveted title.

WTA: Ivanovic Advances into Birmingham Semifinals

Wawrinka found himself in a tight quarterfinal against Australian Marinko Matosevic. At least for the first set. Never facing a break point all afternoon, Wawrinka soon came out the winner 7-5, 6-3.

Next up for Wawrinka is a former event semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Dimitrov advanced by walkover after his opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov withdrew due to injury.

Wawrinka, the winner of three titles this season including the Australian Open, currently holds a 24-6 match record this year.

Lopez Bests Berdych in Quarterfinals

Another seeded player fell by the wayside at the hands of a confident serve and volleyer.

Spain's Feliciano Lopez rallied in the second set against World No. 6 Tomas Berdych to defeat the Czech in their quarterfinal. Having won the first set 6-4, Lopez fell behind in the resulting second set tiebreak. Though trailing 3-6 and 6-7, Lopez managed to pull ahead and win 6-4, 7-6(7).

The victory is the first top 10 win for Lopez in over 11 months. It's also the Spaniard's 50th career match win on grass courts.

Waiting for Lopez is another veteran who knows how to play on grass courts.

Radek Stepanek, fresh off upsetting defending champion Andy Murray on Thursday, knocked out Kevin Anderson in their quarterfinal 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Stepanek, also known for his all-court style, will be a tough test for Lopez.

"It will be (a) tough match. Radek is an experienced player. He knows how to play here. He has very good hands – kind of similar to my game. Maybe my serve is a little bit harder. It's going to be interesting match," Lopez said to ATP.com.

Lopez's last ATP title came at Eastbourne in 2013.