SANTIAGO, March 9, 2018

A new champion will be crowned on Saturday at the $50,000 Cachantun Open by KIA, as 2017 winner Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil fell in Thursday’s quarterfinals 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Spanish qualifier Carlos Gomez-Herrera.

The 27-year-old from Marbella capitalized on five of his 10 break point chances to prevail after two hours and two minutes. In his very first semi-final on the ATP Challenger Tour, Gomez-Herrera will face Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia, who knocked out No. 8 seed Thomaz Bellucci from Brazil 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 in a three hours and 21 minutes battle.

Tommy Robredo also had to work hard to reach the stage of the final four. The former World No. 5 rallied past Italian qualifier Gian Marco Moroni 6-7, 6-3, 6-0. Robredo won 55 per cent of the total points played and broke serve eight times to secure victory in two hours and 35 minutes.

Next up for Robredo will be the last seeded player left in the singles draw, as Marco Cecchinato defeated Guido Andreozzi of Argentina 6-1, 6-2. The 25-year-old Italian, the tournament’s No. 2, prevailed after only 57 minutes.