Next up for Rochus is Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, who beat Joachim Johansson of Sweden 7-6 (4), 6-3 in another quarterfinal Friday on the Royal Tennis Hall's hard court.
Johansson was playing in only his second tournament this year in a bid to comeback from shoulder injuries. The former top-10 player was ranked 511th coming into the event.
Rochus broke Nieminen's serve to lead 1-0 in the third set. He broke again to go up 3-0 after Nieminen made a couple of unforced errors. Rochus won when Nieminen double-faulted on match point.
Bellucci, who had 18 aces, broke to lead 3-1 in the second set then held serve to close out the match.
AP
