Defending champion Gonzalez crashes out

Top seed Fernando Gonzalez has been knocked out of the Heineken Open in Auckland after a surprise 6-0 6-3 victory by Croatian Mario Ancic.

It took world number 22 Ancic, conqueror of Scot Andy Murray in the second round, less than an hour to dismantle the usually composed game of the tournament’s defending champion.

Ancic began the match in roaring fashion, the fifth seed breaking the Chilean’s serve on three occasions to take the first set to the crowd’s amazement.

Gonzalez was not to be defeated so easily and proved a little more difficult for Ancic to overcome in the second set.

But when the Croatian claimed the important service break in the fifth game of the set the match was all but over.

Rising Swiss star Stanislas Wawrinka also booked a spot in the semi-finals at Auckland.

Roger Federer’s Davis Cup partner had little trouble dispatching German Florian Mayer 6-3 6-4 in their quarter final clash.

Wawrinka quickly took the upper hand, the 20-year-old breaking his opponent’s second service game on the way to taking the first set.

Wawrinka gained another service break in the seventh game of the second set and went on to win.

“I played very well and I served very well,” said Wawrinka. “It is very good to get into a semi-final.”

Seventh seed Jarkko Nieminen overcame a gallant effort from former world number nine Nicolas Massu to advance to the semi-finals.

It took the Finnish star just over an hour-and-a-half to secure the 6-3 7-6 (7/4) win.

The world number 29 had little trouble putting away his Chilean opponent in the first set, Nieminen getting the crucial service break in the seventh game.

However, the second set soon developed into a battle as neither player showed any sign of weakness.

With both players holding their serves right through the second set the result hung in the balance of a deciding tiebreaker.

It was then Nieminen who took the upper hand, breaking his opponent’s serve twice on the way to a stunning 7-4 tiebreak victory.

“It was a good quality match. We did not miss the easy shots and there were some good rallies,” said Nieminen. “I really had to work hard to win this match.”