WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- France's Richard Gasquet reached his first ATP Masters semifinal in six years on Friday, defeating Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-2 at Cincinnati quarterfinal.
Gasquet will play against Belgian 16th seed David Goffin for the final place. Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka's walkover gave Goffin an automatic advance due to illness.
The victory gives Gasquet a sweet revenge for his loss to Bautista Agut last week in Montreal, with the Spaniard having won four of their five previous encounters.
"It was a great win beating Roberto," Gasquet said. "I had to stop six months at the start of this year. I was a little scared to come back to the tour, but I'm happy to be here fighting. I don't have so many more years left to play."
Gasquet dominated the first-set tiebreaker but was broken in the third game of the second set as his rival seized the momentum.
But the Frenchman raced to a 4-1 lead in the final set, firing a crosscourt winner for two match points, and then clinched his 15th match victory of the year in two and a quarter hours.
