Michael Llodra and Robin Soderling progress at the Paris Masters
France's Michael Llodra and Robin Soderling of Sweden are due to face each other in the semi-finals of the Paris Masters after winning their quarter-final ties on Friday 12 November.
Home favourite Llodra beat Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 7–5 6–1, while Soderling overcame American Andy Roddick, winning 7–5 6–4.
Llodra, who knocked out defending champion Novak Djokovic in the third round, came back from Davydenko's break in the first set to claim the second with ease.
"It was not easy to confirm my victory against Djokovic [with another victory], but I did not want it to end there," the Frenchman told reporters after the game. "It will be tough against Soderling because
he is a great indoor player and he is full of confidence."
Llodra recovers from Davydenko's early break
The world number 23 pressed Davydenko in the fourth game of the first set, hitting a strong backhand that seemed to promise a break, but instead it was Davydenko who broke in the fifth game after Llodra
advanced to the net.
At that point, Davydenko could have claimed the set by holding his remaining games, but Llodra responded with a break in the eighth game after the Russian's disappointing double fault.
Davydenko, who won last the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals, held to 5–5 but let Llodra break again in the 12th game as the crowd showed their excitement.
In the second set, Llodra broke Davydenko's first service game after his opponent hit his third double fault of the match and sliced a forehand wide of the court to give the Frenchman a 3–0 lead.
Llodra's victory seemed complete when he broke again to go up 4–0 when the Russian's forehand failed to clear the net.
Davydenko, ranked 11th in the world, then held to love to claim his only game of the second set, but Llodra sealed the victory on his second match point at 5–1 to the delight of the spectators.
Soderling outhits Roddick
Two hard-hitters faced off when Soderling saw off Roddick earlier in the day, with the former edging on top comfortably after two sets.
At 5–5, the Swede converted his fifth break point of the match and then held to win the first set.
The fourth seed then broke Roddick's serve in the first game of the second set before holding the remaining games to set up the encounter with Llodra on Saturday 13 November.
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