Llodra and Soderling reach Paris Masters semi-finals
Nikolay Davydenko has been defeated by Michael Llodra in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Masters, the loss bringing to an end what was ultimately a disappointing season for the world No. 11.
After a strong start to 2010, the 29-year-old’s season took a turn for the worse after a broken wrist forced him to miss the spring clay court season, and since returning at Halle during June he’s been struggling to regain top form.
The upshot of a run of poor results for the Russian is that when the top eight players in the world descend on London for the World Tour Finals at the end of the month, he won’t be there to defend the title that he won last year when he defeated 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro (another absentee from this year’s event) in the final.
Against Llodra today, it was Davydenko who secured the first break of the match and with it a 3-2 lead in the first set but an untimely double fault while facing a double break point in the eighth game allowed Llodra to level at 4-4. The Frenchman then broke Davydenko again to take the first set.
The world No. 34 then put the match to bed, breaking his opponent twice more to take a 4-0 lead in the second set (another Davydenko double fault on break point gifting Llodra the first break of the set), his serve and volley style and the support of the home crowd serving the 30-year-old well too as he wrapped up the 7-5, 6-1 win in one hour and 15 minutes.
Llodra, who arrived at the Paris Masters having won just one out of six matches he’d played at the tournament in previous years (yes, that’s four first round losses in five attempts) will now play French Open runner-up Robin Soderling for a place in the final.
Soderling reached the semi-finals of a Masters event for the third time in 2010 with his 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Roddick.
The world No. 5 produced 18 aces for the match to Roddick’s 15, including one on match point, and only lost four of 38 points on his first serve to ensure the American was always going to have a tough time breaking his opponent.
Soderling’s ability to produce the goods on the big points was also crucial and once he had the first set and a break in the opening game of the second in his pocket, Roddick was unable to find a way back into the match.
So the Swede keeps his hopes of winning a maiden Masters title alive for at least one more match, while eighth ranked Roddick can now turn his attention to his last assignment for the season – the World Tour Finals in London at the end of the month, after he clinched the final spot in the eight-player draw yesterday.
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