El Aynaoui falls in semi-finals
Fernando Gonzalez advanced to the final of the BMW Open with a 3-6 6-4 6-3 win against tournament surprise Younes El Aynaoui.
The second-seeded Chilean has not lost on clay this season, having won the ninth title of his career earlier this year at Vina del Mar.
The world number 15 will face Italy's Simone Bolelli in the final after he caused a major upset when he beat top seed Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 7-5 (7/1) 4-6 7-6 (7/4).
El Aynaoui had been the story of this tournament and appeared on his way to an astonishing upset after taking the first set.
But the 36-year-old Moroccan qualifier was unable to finish off Gonzalez, who converted all three of his break points over the final two sets.
El Aynaoui had enjoyed success here in the past as the 2002 champion, but that triumph came while he was in his prime and on the way to a career high ranking of 14th.
Now ranked 295th, he had not reached a semi-final since October 2003 and - with his effort here this week - he became the oldest semi-finalist in an ATP tournament since 40-year-old Jimmy Connors reached the round of four at San Francisco in 1993.
