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Marin Cilic eased into the semi-finals of the Austria Tennis Trophy 6-1 6-4 over former champion Feliciano Lopez in Vienna.

Cilic also reached the final in Beijing in early October and is hoping to carry some of that momentum into his campaign for a possible place in the season-ending World Tour Finals next month in London.

He stands provisional 12th in the chase for the last two remaining spots in the tournament starting November 22.

"Of course I have London on my mind, I can't help but think of it," Cilic said. "I'm a little behind the other guys but I'm looking forward in trying to qualify.

"I've played three solid matches here, this one was the best. I got off to a fast start with a break and then saved break points on my serve.

"I played well from the baseline even if I could serve a bit better. In the second set he played better but I was able to break after he gave me a few easy points in the seventh game."

The Croat, who won the Chennai title to start the season, is not alone in his quest.

Also still alive in the race are second seed Radek Stepanek, 14th in the London sprint, and provisional number 16 Frenchman Gael Monfils.

But both went down to quarter-final defeats in Vienna, second seed Stepanek losing a chance to improve with his 6-2 6-2 loss to Austrian seventh seed Jurgen Melzer, who has already achieved his best showing in his tenth appearance at the home showcase.

It was a similar fate for Monfils, the flamboyant number three who forced a third set against on-form Serb Janko Tipsarevic, but ended up on the short end of the scoreline 6-4 6-7(8) 6-3.

Cilic will next meet Philipp Kohlschreiber, who has won three of their four previous meetings. The German fourth seed put out Spanish number five Nicolas Almagro 7-5 6-4.

"Playing him will be tough," said Cilic. "I will have to lift my game and play better than I did today. It's a strong field here. Even if I'm the top seed, there are plenty of guys like Stepanek, Monfils and Melzer, who have good chances."

Cilic rolled 28-year-old Spanish opponent Lopez, the 2005 winner, in a 39-minute opening set then secured a break for 4-3 in the second which paved the way to victory, his 43rd of the season against 18 losses.

"I have no pressure," he said both of his chances at the tournament and of making the World Tour Finals.

Watch highlights of the semi-finals in Vienna from 10.30pm on Saturday on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521); Also available on your PC via the Eurosport Player - click on the link under the picture to subscribe.

AFP