Sweden’s Robin Soderling, conqueror of Rafael Nadal, marched into his first ever Grand Slam semi-final with a superb 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 win over Russian Nikolay Davydenko at the French Open on Tuesday.
Soderling, the 23rd seed and world number 25, will play either British third seed Andy Murray or Chile’s 12th seed Fernando Gonzalez for a place in the final.
The 24-year-old shocked the sporting world by inflicting a first-ever Roland Garros defeat on four-time champion Nadal here on Sunday and becomes the first Swedish French Open semi-finalist since his coach Magnus Norman in 2000.
”He surprised me, he played really well,” said Davydenko.
”I tried to play better, to get some control from the baseline and play some long rallies with some top-spin, but he kept making winners. He just played faster.”
Soderling survived two break points in his opening service game before breaking Davydenko twice in succession, the Russian netting backhands at the critical moment on both occasions.
Davydenko, playing on his 28th birthday, was at times made to look statuesque by Soderling’s strafing ground strokes and pinpoint returning, with the Swede wrapping up the first set in just 23 minutes.
World number 11 Davydenko, a Roland Garros semi-finalist in 2005 and 2007, saved four break points early in the second set, but Soderling refused to be deterred, finally securing the break in game seven when Davydenko found the net with a forehand.
Soderling’s inspired shot-making continued as he opened up a two-set lead and he totted up yet more sensational winners in an uncompetitive third set to prolong his fairytale run on the Paris clay.
World number one Dinara Safina reached the semi-finals of the women’s competition with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Belarusian ninth seed Victoria Azarenka, whose hair-trigger temperament fell apart.
Top seed Safina will face either Russia’s Maria Sharapova or Slovakian 20th seed Dominika Cibulkova for a place in the final.
Safina, the runner-up here in 2008, had stormed into the quarter-finals having lost just five games in four rounds, but it took only 20 minutes on Tuesday for the 23-year-old to drop five more.
Azarenka had defeated Safina for the first and only time in four previous meetings on her way to the Miami title in March and the 19-year-old, who knocked out defending champion Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round, came out firing, spearing a succession of flat, deep, forehand and backhand winners.
Three breaks of serve gave the blonde the opening set after just 21 minutes.
Safina dramatically reduced her error-count in the second set and with Azarenka’s suspect temperament suddenly a factor; the Russian was two breaks to the good for a 4-1 lead.
But back came the Arizona-based Azarenka as she came out on top in a series of punishing rallies, taking two breaks of her own to level at 4-4.
She then undid all her hard work by handing the break straight back to her opponent and this time Safina did not let her opportunity slip away, with her capture of the set accompanied by another Azarenka racquet-bashing tantrum.
Safina broke to edge ahead 1-0 in the decider, with Azarenka remonstrating with herself and with her coaching team as her game crumbled.
The Russian broke a dispirited Azarenka to lead 5-2 before serving out the match when an Azarenka return caught the top of the net and fizzled out, rather like the player herself. — Sapa, AFP