Australians Bernard Tomic and Matthew Ebden could face each other in a mouth-watering final at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships after both booked their last-four slots on Friday.
Just weeks after bombing out of the French Open to lucky loser Marco Trungelliti, qualifier Tomic showed his growing confidence on his favoured grass surface with an impressive 6-4 7-6 (7-3) over fourth-seeded Fernando Verdasco in the Dutch tournament.
And compatriot Ebden, who put out defending champion Gilles Muller in the previous round, proved too strong for Romanian Marius Copil in his quarter-final, racking up a fine 6-3 6-3 result to also make it to the last four.
Perth-based Ebden is yet to drop a set in three matches at 's-Hertogenbosch
Queenslander Tomic, ranked 181st in the world, took the opener on his fifth set point and then battled back from 1-4 in the second set to secure his semi-final spot, his first at a tour-level tournament since the 2016 Fever-Tree Championships.
"I'm feeling pretty good, obviously having played qualifying," Tomic told the ATP website.
"Once you play qualifying and win a few sets, things open up and you get a good feeling - just like I did at Wimbledon [in 2011].
"I feel that all the work I have done is for all to see here and I'm playing really well.
"I like the surface and am very comfortable on it. The ball manages to stay low, I serve well and play with slice. I've won all of my titles on hard courts, so I'd like to win a title on grass courts."
Tomic will face second-seeded Richard Gasquet for a place in the final, the Frenchman winning his quarter-final by beating fifth seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4).
Blocking 30-year-old Ebden's path to a possible showdown with Tomic is another Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy, who defeated wildcard Mackenzie McDonald 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-5).
Chardy, the world No.72 won the Challenger tournament in Surbiton, England, last week and is undefeated in eight successive matches to date.
