Defending champion David Ferrer advanced to the semi-finals of the ATP claycourt event in Buenos Aires on Friday with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Fabio Fognini of Italy.

Top-seeded Ferrer will face fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo, who beat Julian Reister of Germany 6-3 6-2.

“It will be tough match,” Ferrer said. “Each time I have played Tommy, it has been a close match and I will have to play at my best to beat him.”

Ferrer holds a 5-2 edge in head-to-head matches and has won the past two.

It could be all-Spanish semi-finals in the Argentine capital.

Second-seeded Nicolas Almagro was set to play later on Friday against Federico Delbonis of Argentina, and No.3 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland was up against another Spaniard Albert Ramos in the other quarter-final.

With his world No.4 ranking, Ferrer is a strong favorite to win his second tournament of the season. He won last month in Auckland.

Rafael Nadal skipped this event on his Latin American tour, after making his comeback from a long-term knee injury by playing in Chile and Brazil. He will play next week in Acapulco, Mexico.