IT'S SHOWTIME FOLKS...Goran Ivanisevic and Thomas Muster playact during a charity match in Bosnia.

GSTAAD, JULY 11: South African Wayne Ferreira won a marathon between former top 10 players today as he rallied past the big serve of Marc Rosset to post a 7-5, 7-6 (12-10) victory and advance into the semi-finals of the Swiss Open.

Ferreira, seeded eighth at the high-altitude venue, fought back from a break down in the opening set and stayed the course in the second against against Switzerland's former Olympic champion, now ranked 28th.

Ferreira is the only non-Spaniard left in the field of an event won by Spaniards for five of the past six years.

Second-seed Alex Corretja notched his 28th clay court win of the year defeating fellow Spaniard Alberto Berasategui 6-4, 6-0.

Coach Javier Duarte, who coaches both men, found it an uncomfortable afternoon.

World number six Corretja, the Italian Open champion, showed a return to form in his first event since injuring a hamstring in the fourth round of the French Open and resting for 20 days while missing Wimbledon.

He next takes on compatriot Juan Albert Viloca, who beat Wimbledon quarter-finalist Nicolas Keifer, a protege of Boris Becker, 6-4, 6-3.The little known Spaniard had earlier sept aside fourth seed Marcelo Rios 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

Norman rallies

BASTAD: Fourth-seeded Magnus Norman of Sweden bounced back from a 0-5 deficit in the deciding set on Thursday to beat unseeded Romanian Adrian Voinea, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), in the Swedish Open ATP Tennis Tournament at Bastad.

Norman became only the third seed to advance to the quarter-finals. Half the seeds, including top-seed Thomas Johansson of Sweden, tumbled early in the tournament.

The match lasted two hours and 26 minutes.

In other action, American Jeff Tarango upset sixth-seed Marcelo Filippini of Uruguay 6-3, 6-4 to move into the quarter-final round.

A Muster, Ivanisevic show

SIROKI BRIJEG: Thomas Muster chatted with the audience, simulated an outburst of anger at the judge and interrupted the match for a faked mobile phone conversation, but beat Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia in a charity exhibition match.

The Austrian, the world's No 4 player, beat Ivanisevic 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 in an easy, relaxed match in this southwestern Croat-controlled city yesterday.Tickets at the price of $30-60 were sold out for 2,500 seats at the newly-built tennis court.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.