Berdych joins seeds' Stuttgart exodus after defeat to Lopez

[June 16, 2017]    STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - Tomas Berdych became the latest seeded player to crash out of the Stuttgart Open on Friday as Spaniard Feliciano Lopez edged past the Czech third seed 6-7(4) 6-3 6-4 to reach the last four.

The Czech world number 14, who has reached only one final so far this year, now joins already-eliminated top seeds Roger Federer and Grigor Dimtrov on the sidelines.

Lopez, ranked 33rd in the world, will now face either 39-year-old veteran Tommy Haas, who beat Federer in the previous round, or Germany's Mischa Zverev, who meet in their quarter-final later on Friday.

The 35-year-old Spaniard bounced back from the first set tiebreak loss, saved several break points on his own serve early in the third set and earned his only break with a superb crosscourt passing shot to go 4-3 up and keep his advantage until the end.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Mark Heinrich)

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