Gille/Martin Reach Gijon SFs

Sander Gille and Fabrice Martin reached the semi-finals at the Gijon Open on Friday when they downed Sander Arends and David Pel 6-4, 7-6(5).

In a tight clash, the Belgian-French tandem raised their level at the crucial moments, saving all three break points they faced to advance after 89 minutes at the ATP 250 event.

Gille and Martin, who upset top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the first round, are teaming for the first time this week. The 31-year-old Gille has lifted five tour-level trophies in his career, while Martin has triumphed seven times. They will next play Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow.

In the other match in Spain, Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni moved past Nikola Cacic and Hugo Nys 7-5, 6-2 to advance to the championship match. Gonzalez and Molteni did not face a break point to triumph after 71 minutes.

Doumbia/Reboul Advance In Florence
Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul overcame Nicolas Barrientos and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 7-6(4), 6-2 to reach the semi-finals at the UniCredit Firenze Open in Florence.

In a strong serving display, the Frenchmen fired nine aces and won 91 per cent (30/33) of points behind their first deliveries to seal victory after 86 minutes. Doumbia and Reboul are aiming to win their first tour-level title as a team this week in Italy and will next meet Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.