Intro:

Fifth seed Gael Monfils of France and Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, seeded six, won through to the semi-finals of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier on Friday (7 February).

Script:

The quarter finals of the Open Sud de France took place on Friday, and first on court were Jarkko Nieminen and 36-year-old Frenchman Marc Gicquel.

Gicquel had beaten second seeded Gilles Simon, in the previous round, and he once again gave a good account of himself, responding well to losing the first set, by taking the second 6-3.

But Nieminen held his nerve to win an epic 32-stroke final rally and take his place in the semi-finals, winning the decider 7-6.

Nieminen will face Gael Monfils in the last fourl after the French fifth seed defeated Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-4, 6-4 in their quarter-final match.

Currently ranked 30 in the world, Monfils is enjoying a resurgence in his career after reaching the final of the Qatar Open last month.