Austria's Stefan Koubek ended the run of local favourite Rainer Schuettler at the Munich Open on Friday by outplaying him 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.

Fourth seed Schuettler, playing his first tournament in Germany since his surprise run to the Australian Open in January, accumulated unforced errors to bow out after just 67 minutes by netting a forehand on the first match-point.

"I would have liked to go further but I just didn't play well enough," said Schuettler, who was a losing finalist in Munich last year.

Koubek goes on to meet either top seed Roger Federer of Switzerland or Russia's Mikhail Youzhny for a place in the final of the $380,000 claycourt event.

Russia's Yeygeny Kafelnikov had earlier battled back from a set down to reach the last four with a 6-7 7-5 6-3 win over Dutchman Sjeng Schalken.

Schalken, seeded third in the claycourt event, won a tiebreak 7-2 to take the first set but fifth-seeded Kafelnikov fought back to claim the next two.

Schalken survived five match points before the Russian managed to convert the sixth to go through after an exciting contest which lasted more than two and a half hours.

The former French and Australian Open champion vowed to retire at the end of last year if he helped Russia win their first Davis Cup title, but after victory over holders France in Paris he changed his mind and chose to continue.

Kafelnikov now meets Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, the eighth seed, who crushed Czech Radek Stepanek 6-1, 6-1 in the quarter-finals.

Earlier, Schuettler did not let Nikolay Davydenko spoil his homecoming when he beat the rising Russian star 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals.

Schuettler, playing his first tournament in Germany since his surprise run to the Australian Open final in January, recovered from a slow start to tame Davydenko, who won his first two ATP titles this year to rise to 16th in the Champions Race.

German Schuettler, the fourth seed in the claycourt tournament, converted his third match point to clinch victory after a two-hour battle.

"I had to fight hard against one of the best players in the world on clay," said Schuettler, paying tribute to Davydenko.

"It was tough and we both had to go the limit but I'll be all right after a night's sleep."

The local favourite goes on to meet Austria's Stefan Koubek, who crushed Tim Henman 6-4, 6-0 in the day's first match.

Koubek, who captured the third ATP title of his career in the season-opening Qatar Open in January, took a measure of revenge after losing his three previous meetings with the Briton.

Henman, a wild card and seventh seed in the $380,000 event, is struggling to hit peak form after having shoulder surgery in November.

His hard-fought win over Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti in the first round on Tuesday was only his second victory this year.

Federer, playing in Munich for the first time and making his season debut on the slow surface, now takes on Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

Sixth-seeded Youzhny, a semi-finalist in the Bavarian city last year, was made to work by Israeli qualifier Harel Levy for his 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory in the day's last match.