Defending champion David Nalbandian will meet top seed Andy Roddick in the Swiss Indoors semi-finals after the U.S. Open champion ousted unseeded Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-4, 6-4.

Nalbandian defeated Tim Henman 6-2, 6-4, while third seed Guillermo Coria beat Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-1, 6-2 for a semi-final meeting with Ivan Ljubicic, after the big-serving Croatian overcame Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Roddick won his last encounter with Nalbandian in a sensational semi-final at Flushing Meadows last month, when the American came from two sets down to overhaul the Argentine in five sets.

The two also met in the final of the Montreal Masters in August, when Roddick also prevailed.

Nalbandian repeated his victory over Henman 12 months ago with Friday's win.

"I think I'm playing better and better and I've got a lot of confidence for the semi-finals," said Nalbandian, who has now notched eight successive victories in Basel. "I hope it will be 10 matches in a row."

Henman said there was little he could do to stop his in-form opponent, whom he has only beaten once, at Wimbledon this year.

"You have to give him a lot of credit," Henman said. "He never gave me any opportunity on his serves and it was certainly his day. But this tournament has been good to me and I will be back next year."

Argentine Coria, playing in his first tournament since the U.S. Open, comfortably took the opening set against Lopez, before the Spaniard lost his form in the second set as Coria won the final three games.

"I didn't think it would be so easy," the 21-year-old Coria said. "Lopez is a good player and it feels good to have won that easily.

Ljubicic added to his scalp of second seed and home favourite Roger Federer on Thursday by coming from a set down to beat Lapentti.

The 24-year-old Croat secured a semi-final berth for the fourth time this season after previous appearances in Milan, Dubai and Bangkok as Lapentti failed to deal with Ljubicic's big serve.