Thiem untroubled as Ruud continues Rio run
As wildcard Casper Ruud reached the Rio Open semi-finals, Dominic Thiem eased into the last four.
Dominic Thiem continued his fine run at the Rio Open as wildcard Casper Ruud joined him in the semi-finals.
Thiem, the Austrian second seed, eased past Argentinian Diego Schwartzman 6-2 6-3 in their last-eight clash at the ATP 500 event.
The world number eight was clinical on the clay courts in Brazil, converting all six break points he set up on Friday.
Awaiting Thiem in the semi-finals is Albert Ramos-Vinolas after the Spanish fifth seed beat qualifier Nicolas Kicker 6-2 6-3.
On the other side of the draw, teenager Ruud continued his run.
The 18-year-old Norwegian was too good for local hope Thiago Monteiro 6-2 7-6 (7-2).
For world number 208 Ruud, it followed on from wins over Rogerio Dutra Silva and Roberto Carballes Baena.
He is set to face a tougher test in the semis, with fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta his opponent.
The Spaniard led Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (2-7) 1-0 when the Ukrainian retired, ending his seven-match winning run.