Nadal sets up semi-final against Djokovic

PARIS, (Reuters) – Rafael Nadal silenced a partisan  crowd by knocking out local favourite and defending champion  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5 7-5 with an impressive performance yesterday to advance to the semi-finals of the Paris Masters.

World number two Nadal, who has won the French Open on the  other side of town four times but never this event at the Bercy  hall, will meet Novak Djokovic for a place in Sunday’s final

The Serbian world number three earlier ruined Robin  Soderling’s hopes of making the World Tour Finals in London by  edging past the Swede 6-4 1-6 6-3.

Spaniard Nadal, who still stands an outside chance of  finishing the year at number one, had the crowd against him and  faced a strong challenge from the powerful Tsonga, who loves  fast indoor courts. But he showed more composure when it  mattered.

Both players held serve in a tight first set until Nadal  broke the Frenchman in the 11th game to serve for the set,  earning two set points with a superb forehand pass and firing a  service winner on the first.

The second set followed a similar pattern, Nadal breaking  Tsonga with perfect timing, again in the 11th game, when the  home favourite hit a backhand long.

Serving for the match, Nadal won the game to love, finishing  with a service winner after one hour 51 minutes of fine tennis  and putting Tsonga out of the race for the Nov. 22-29 season  finale featuring the world’s top eight.

World number 10 Soderling’s defeat by Djokovic means the  French Open runner-up will not go to London either.
Djokovic managed a break early in a first set featuring  plenty of exciting rallies. Soderling broke back to level at 4-4  but the Serb broke the Swede again immediately and served for  the set, wrapping it up when his opponent hit a backhand wide.
Soderling fought back in the second set, taking just 28  minutes to win it with an ace.

The third set was tight until Soderling dropped serve by  netting a backhand, giving Djokovic a 5-4 lead. The Serb sealed  victory with Soderling missing a drop shot on match point to bow  out after just under two hours.