STOCKHOLM, Oct 23, 2009 (AFP) - Top seed Robin Soderling kept home title hopes alive when he defeated Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in the Stockholm Open quarter-finals on Friday.
The Swede, who was runner-up to Argentina's David Nalbandian in 2008, shook off an early break before taking victory in 1hr 43min.
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| OM369 - Stockholm, SWEDEN : Marcos Baghdatis (L) of Cyprus shakes hands with defeated Arnaud Clement of France on October 23, 2009, in Stockholm during the quarter finals of the Tennis Stockholm Open. Baghdatis won 6/4,6/4. AFP PHOTO / OLIVIER MORIN |
French Open runner-up Soderling is fighting for one of two remaining spots in next month's eight-man ATP World Finals in London, standing provisional ninth behind Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Verdasco.
The Swede can gain some ground this week, though not pass Verdasco, who will not play until Valencia in ten days' time.
Soderling will next face 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, who eliminated Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-4.
Tenth-ranked Soderling was playing in the tenth quarter-final of his breakthrough season, improving to 45-18.
Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci fired 18 aces to defeat Joachim Johansson 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in their quarter-final to leave Soderling the last home hope.
Bellucci, 21, whose last quarter-final appearance in August led to a career breakthrough trophy on clay at Gstaad, will play Saturday for a spot in the final against Oliver Rochus after the Belgian defeated Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.
The ace output of Bellucci, ranked 45th, was almost matched by Johansson, who fired 13.
The Brazilian winner saved the lone break point he faced while Johansson lost his own serve once.
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