2nd-seeded Thiem reaches semifinals of clay-court Rio Open

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Second-seeded Dominic Thiem beat Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-2, 6-3 on Friday to reach the Rio Open semifinals, where he is the favorite following No. 1 Kei Nishikori's defeat in the first round.

Thiem has won seven ATP singles titles - five of those on clay. He was tested at times, saving eight break points out of 10, but took all six of his chances on Schwartzman's serve.

The 23-year-old Austrian next faces Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The Spaniard defeated Nicolas Kicker by the same score, breaking the Argentine's serve three times.

In later quarterfinals, Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain played Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Brazilian Thiago Monteiro faced 18-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud.