Dominic Thiem of Austria returns the ball against Andy Murray, of Britain, during their match at the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, May 2, 2022. (MANU FERNANDEZ / AP)

Former world number three Dominic Thiem reached his first Tour-level semi-final in 14 months at the Swiss Open in Gstaad on Friday, as the Austrian looks to step up his comeback from a wrist injury that sidelined him for nine months.

Former world number three Dominic Thiem, who has dropped to 274 in the rankings, defeated qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas 6-4 6-3 at the ATP 250 claycourt event in Gstaad and will face second seed Matteo Berrettini in Saturday's semi-final

The 2020 US Open champion had been out of action after injuring his wrist in June 2021 and could not defend his title at Flushing Meadows.

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Thiem, who has dropped to 274 in the rankings, defeated qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas 6-4 6-3 at the ATP 250 claycourt event in Gstaad and will face second seed Matteo Berrettini in Saturday's semi-final.

"Tomorrow I can go into the match free, trying to do my best," Thiem said in his on-court interview.

"When I traveled to Bastad last week I didn't expect to reach the quarter-finals there and then the semi-finals here. It is really, really good and I am happy with the progress."

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Thiem is aiming to win in Gstaad for the second time following his triumph in 2015.