Ferrer breezes back Lacko

David Ferrer wasted little time claiming a place in the last four of the Auckland Open at the expense of Slovakia's Lukas Lacko.

The Spanish top seed was on court for less than an hour as he recorded a 6-2 6-1 victory.

Ferrer's next opponent will be Frenchman Gael Monfils, who came from a set down to oust third seed Tommy Haas 3-6 7-5 6-3.

The other semi-final will be between second seed Philipp Kohlschreiber and fourth seed Sam Querrey.

German Kohlschreiber battled past Xavier Malisse of Belgium 7-6 (8/6) 6-4, while Querrey was a 6-4 7-6 (7/5) winner over American compatriot Jesse Levine.