Davydenko Advances; Almagro Blocks Soderling For QF Berth

© Bongarts/Getty ImagesDavydenko returns to the semi-finals for the first time since 2005.

Second-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko made light work of Jeremy Chardy, the French 15th seed who captured his maiden ATP World Tour title last week, at the International German Open on Thursday.

Davydenko improved to 18-6 on clay courts on the 2009 ATP World Tour season, after beating MercedesCup champion Chardy 6-3, 6-3 in just 73 minutes for a place in the quarter-finals. Davydenko won 36 of 42 service points, including four aces, for a place in his sixth ATP World Tour quarter-final (or better) this year. He has a 22-8 season mark.

Chardy, 22, became the first Frenchman since Henri Leconte in 1984 to lift the Stuttgart title. The World No. 32 dropped to 27-18 on the year (13-7 on clay). Davydenko goes on to meet 11th-seeded Romanian Victor Hanescu, runner-up to Chardy in Stuttgart. The 27-year-old Hanescu hit seven aces and saved 11 of 13 break points to defeat Julien Benneteau of France 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 . 

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During the evening session, Spanish 14th seed Nicolas Almagro snapped a two-match losing streak against third-seeded Swede Robin Soderling with a 7-5, 6-3 victory in 82 minutes. Soderling, last week’s winner at the Catella Swedish Open, dropped to 26-13 this year. World No. 40 Almagro, who captured his fifth ATP World Tour title at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco in February, improved to 21-13 on the season and will next face Uruguayan qualifier Pablo Cuevas.

Cuevas, who has qualified for six ATP World Tour tournaments this year (Vina del Mar, Acapulco, Buenos Aires, Estoril, Wimbledon and Hamburg), battled past eighth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber – much to the disappointment of his German compatriots – in their first meeting. 

The World No. 107  triumphed 6-4, 7-6(8) in one hour and 54 minutes, hitting eight aces and winning 72 per cent of service points. With a 9-6 record on the 2009 ATP World Tour season, Cuevas has won three straight tour-level matches for the first time since February – when he advanced to the Movistar Open semi-finals in Vina del Mar (l. to Gonzalez). Kohlschreiber, 25, dropped to 30-15 on the year.

Sixth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer made his way into the quarter-finals as he came back to post the 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Juan Monaco in two hours and 15 minutes. Despite his inability to save the four break points faced on serve, he put in six of his 10 chances to earn his first win in four clay-court meetings against the Argentine. World No. 23 Ferrer, a finalist earlier this season on clay at Barcelona (l. to Nadal), next faces German wild card Simon Greul, a 7-5, 7-6(7) winner over Spaniard Ivan Navarro.

This season’s Brisbane semi-finalist, 11th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, edged past German wild card Daniel Brands 7-5, 7-5 in one hour and 44 minutes.  The World No. 39 advanced to his first ATP World Tour quarter-finals since May at the BMW Open in Munich, and now has a 20-18 season record.  Mathieu will next challenge 10th-seeded Serbian Viktor Troicki, who beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(6).