Three of the Top 4 seeds plus a familiar unseeded name make up the semi-finals of the Valencia Open 500. All four players have reached at least three ATP World Tour finals this year. Second seed Nikolay Davydenko will face unseeded Mikhail Youzhny, who has already made it past a pair of seeds this week, No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 5 Gilles Simon. Davydenko is 3-1 against Youzhny but the underdog did win their most recent meeting between the two Russians at last year’s Australian Open. Top seed Andy Murray will face No. 4 seed Fernando Verdasco and the Scot is 6-1 lifetime in ATP World Tour matches against the Spaniard. Verdasco recorded his only win in their head-to-head series at the Australian Open earlier this year. Davydenko and Verdasco hope to boost their chances of taking the last two berths in the eight-man, year-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, which begins November 22. Both players have not dropped a set so far this week.

SATURDAY SEMI-FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS – In Order of Play

Pista Agora

Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs (2) Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) Davydenko Leads 3-1
02 Doha (Qatar) Hard R32 Nikolay Davydenko 6-4 6-2
04 Moscow (Russia) Carpet SF Nikolay Davydenko 7-5 6-7(5) 7-5
07 ATP Masters Series Montreal(Canada)Hard R16 Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(8) 6-3
08 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(2) 6-3 6-1

Youzhny FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Moscow (d Tipsarevic); F: Munich (l Berdych); Tokyo (l Tsonga); SF: Kitzbühel (l Garcia-Lopez); QF: Rotterdam (l Ancic); Marseille (l Llodra); London / Queen's Club (l Blake); Kuala Lumpur (l Gonzalez)
YTD W-L: 41-27
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: June 25, 1982
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 23

• Youzhny, 27, made his first appearance at this tournament in eight years Wednesday and beat No. 3 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who retired trailing at 67(3) 63 3-0 with a left wrist injury…He then followed with a 62 26 61 win over Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and a 64 64 victory over No. 5 seed Gilles Simon…Has held serve 29 of 32 games this week, saving 15 of 18 break points…Has also converted 12 of 21 break points
• The No. 2 Russian (behind No. 7 Davydenko) owns a 41-27 record on the season, including 26-16 on hard courts…He is appearing in his fifth ATP World Tour semi-final or better this year (3-1 in SFs)…He is 22-50 lifetime against Top 10 opponents (3-2 this year)
• Two weeks ago he rallied to defeat Janko Tipsarevic in three sets in the Kremlin Cup final in his 11th Moscow appearance… He extended the Russian title streak in Moscow to six straight years with his fifth career ATP World Tour crown
• It was his third ATP World Tour final of the season after runner-up efforts in Munich (l. to Berdych) in May and Tokyo (l. to Tsonga) last month…He is 5-6 in career ATP World Tour finals

Davydenko FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Hamburg (d Mathieu); Umag (d Ferrero); Kuala Lumpur (d Verdasco); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai (d Nadal); SF: Barcelona (l Nadal); Estoril (l Blake); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Murray); Roland Garros (l Soderling); Stuttgart (l Fognini); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Canada (l Murray); New Haven (l Querrey); Beijing (l Cilic)
YTD W-L: 52-14
YTD Titles: 4
Career Titles: 18
Date of Birth: June 2, 1981
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 7

• Davydenko, 28, is appearing in his first semi-final in Valencia after a 62 61 first round win over qualifier Alejandro Falla, a 63 75 victory over Juan Monaco and a 64 76(3) win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez…He previously lost in the first round in 2002, ’05-’06…Has held serve 25 of 30 games this week while breaking opponents 12 of 28 games
• He enters with a 52-14 match record on the season and has won at least 50 matches for the fifth straight year…Has played well on both clay (26-6) and hard courts (24-7) this season; 2-1 on grass
• He has captured four ATP World Tour titles this year, including last month at the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, defeating No. 4 Djokovic in the semi-finals and No. 2 Nadal in the final…He also improved his career record to 18-5 in finals with his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title (’06 Paris, ’08 Miami)
• He is trying to secure one of two remaining positions in the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, which begins Nov. 22
• His other three ATP World Tour titles came in the summer on clay in Hamburg (d. Mathieu) and Umag (d. Ferrero), and his first title in Asia on hard courts in Kuala Lumpur (d. Verdasco) on Oct. 4
• Other quality finishes are two SF, at Barcelona (l. to Nadal) and Estoril (l. to Blake) and six QF, at Monte Carlo (l. to Murray), Roland Garros (l. to Soderling), Stuttgart (l. to Fognini), Montreal (l. to Murray), New Haven (l. to Querrey) and earlier this month in Beijing (l. to Cilic)
• Had two lengthy heel injury lay-offs, one at beginning of season (withdrew from 2nd Rd. match in Chennai, his first event of the season, then didn’t play for one month) and one in spring (missed two months before returning at Monte Carlo)
• Turned in QF at Roland Garros (l. to Soderling), his fourth QF showing or better in five years
• On April 27, fell out of Top 10 for first time since May 23, 2005 and was out of Top 10 for three months before returning on July 27 (has been there ever since)

(1) Andy Murray (GBR) vs (4) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Murray Leads 6-1
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Andy Murray 7-6(4)7-5 6-4
07 St. Petersburg (Russia) Carpet F Andy Murray 6-2 6-3
08 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard R16 Andy Murray 6-3 3-6 7-6(5)
08 St. Petersburg (Russia) Hard SF Andy Murray 6-0 6-3
08 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Hard R16 Andy Murray 6-3 7-6(6)
09 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Fernando Verdasco 2-6 6-1 1-6 6-3 6-4
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami Hard QF Andy Murray 6-1 6-2
Other Meetings:
03 Segovia CH (Spain) Hard R32 Fernando Verdasco 6-1 6-3

 
Murray FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Doha (d Roddick); Rotterdam (d Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (d Djokovic); London / Queen's Club (d Blake); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Canada (d Del Potro); F: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Nadal); SF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Nadal); Wimbledon (l Roddick); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Federer); QF: Dubai (W/O vs Gasquet); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Del Potro); Roland Garros (l Gonzalez)
YTD W-L: 61-9
YTD Titles: 5
Career Titles: 13
Date of Birth: May 15, 1987
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 4

• Murray, 22, recorded his 61st win of the season Friday, beating Albert Montanes, 64 62; on Tuesday he made his tournament debut with a 63 61 win over Daniel Gimeno-Traver and on Thursday he got his 60th win of the season over Leonardo Mayer, 64 36 63
• He has captured five ATP World Tour titles for the second straight year and reached a career-high No. 2 ranking after winning his fourth career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Montreal in August
• This is his first tournament since the US Open where he lost in the fourth round to Marin Cilic on Sept. 8…He is 61-9 on the season, including 42-4 on hard courts…He is the third player to win 60 or more matches this year, joining Djokovic (68) and Nadal (61)…He’s also appearing in his 10th semi-final of the year (he is 6-3 in SFs)…He is 32-25 lifetime against Top 10 opponents, 11-5 this year
• He began season by defending his title in Doha with back-to-back wins over No. 2 Federer (SF) and No. 8 Roddick (F)...Held serve 47 of 50 games throughout tournament...Then followed with a fourth round showing at Australian Open where he lost to Fernando Verdasco in five sets
• In February, he defeated World No. 1 Nadal in three sets in Rotterdam final to capture his 10th career ATP World Tour title…He’s attempting to reach his 20th career final (13-6)
• He returned in March to reach final at BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, falling to Nadal…En route to title match, he beat No. 15 Robredo in fourth round and  No. 2 Federer in SF for fourth consecutive time since losing to Swiss in ’08 US Open final…Followed by capturing his third title of season at Sony Ericsson Open in Miami over No. 3 Novak Djokovic…He became first British player in tournament's 25-year history to win title…
• Turned in career-best QF run at Roland Garros, losing to Fernando Gonzalez in four sets...Then began his grass court campaign at Queen's by capturing his first title on surface with win over James Blake in final...Became first British player since Bunny Austin in 1938 to earn title at Queen's Club...Did not drop a set and only lost serve twice in tournament...Continued strong grass-court form into Wimbledon, where he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets to reach his first semi-final at All England Club before losing in four sets to Andy Roddick
• The Scot returned to action at Rogers Cup in Montreal, where he defeated three Top 10 players (No. 8 Davydenko, No. 7 Tsonga, No. 6 del Potro) to win his fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy…
Afterwards rose to a career-high No. 2 on Aug. 17 and was there for four weeks …He is highest-ranked British player in ATP history (since 1973) and first player to break Federer-Nadal stronghold on top two spots since Lleyton Hewitt ranked No. 2 on July 18, 2005...Followed with SF in Cincinnati, losing to eventual champion Federer
• At US Open, made a fourth round exit to No. 16 seed Marin Cilic...Then played in Davis Cup tie vs. Poland, winning both singles rubbers in 3-2 loss in World Group playoff tie…He re-aggravated a left wrist injury during weekend tie and withdrew from Asian tournaments in Tokyo and Shanghai

Verdasco FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: New Haven (d Querrey); F: Brisbane (l Stepanek); Kuala Lumpur (l Davydenko); SF: Australian Open (l Nadal); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Djokovic); Barcelona (l Gonzalez); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Nadal); Båstad (l Monaco); US Open (l Djokovic); Beijing (l Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 51-20
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: November 15, 1983
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 8

• Verdasco, 25, the No. 2 Spaniard (behind No. 2 Nadal), is 15-5 lifetime in Valencia, winning the title in 2004 (d. Montanes) and reaching the semi-finals in 2006 and quarter-finals in 2005 and ’08…On Friday he beat No. 7 seed Tommy Robredo 63 62 …On Wednesday he ousted Oscar Hernandez 61 0-1 ret. (due to a back injury) and followed with a 63 63 win over Janko Tipsarevic…Has held serve 21 of 22 games this week, saving seven of eight break points
• The Madrid native is playing in his fifth semi-final of the season (he is 3-1 in SFs, the lone loss coming to Nadal in the marathon Australian Open semi-final)
• One month ago he made his third ATP World Tour final of the year in Kuala Lumpur (l. to Davydenko)
• He has compiled a personal-best 51-20 match record (most wins) this year, including 34-10 on hard…He is 9-41 lifetime against Top 10 opponents, 2-10 this year (losing last 10)
• In August, he captured his third career ATP World Tour title in New Haven (d. Querrey) and didn’t drop a set during the week…He is 3-6 in his career in ATP World Tour finals
• In the first five months of the year, advanced to the quarter-finals or better in his first eight tournaments before the streak ended with a fourth round result at Roland Garros (l. to Davydenko)…He compiled a 26-9 record through May and since June is 25-11
• In July he helped his native country to a 3-2 Davis Cup quarter-final home victory over Germany on clay…He defeated Andreas Beck in the first rubber in five sets before losing to Philipp Kohlschreiber    8-6 in the fifth set…Then followed with a quarter-final in Bastad where he retired with a right calf injury
• He opened the first month winning nine of 11 matches, reaching his first ATP World Tour hard court final in Brisbane (l. to Stepanek) and following with a Grand Slam-best semi-final at the Australian Open
• Posted back-to-back wins over No. 4 Murray in five sets in 4th Rd. and No. 6 Tsonga in the quarter-finals before falling in an epic five-set marathon to countryman and World No. 1 Nadal...Played longest singles match in tournament history (5:14) and afterwards broke into Top 10 for first time at No. 9 (from No. 15) on Feb. 2…Since then has ranked in Top 10 every week except once (Aug. 10, No. 11), reaching a career-high No. 7 on Apr. 20 and May 4

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS

Andy Murray (GBR) vs Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)   Murray Leads 1-0
07 St. Petersburg (Russia) Carpet SF Andy Murray 6-2 5-7 7-6(1)

Andy Murray (GBR) vs Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)  Murray Leads 5-4
06 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard R64 Nikolay Davydenko 6-1 3-6 6-3
06 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Nikolay Davydenko 6-1 5-7 6-3 6-0
07 Doha (Qatar) Hard SF Andy Murray 7-5 6-2
07 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard R16 Andy Murray 7-6(3) 6-4
08 Doha (Qatar) Hard SF Andy Murray 6-4 6-3
08 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard QF Nikolay Davydenko 7-5 6-4
08 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard SF Nikolay Davydenko 7-5 6-2
09 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo  Clay QF Andy Murray 7-6(1) 6-4
09 ATP Masters 1000 Montreal Hard QF Andy Murray 6-2 6-4

Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)  Verdasco Leads 2-0
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg  Clay R64 Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-2
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay R32 Fernando Verdasco 7-6(5) 5-7 7-5 6-1

Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) Davydenko Leads 6-1
04 Long Island (USA) Hard R16 Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(4)6-3
04 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Carpet R64 Nikolay Davydenko 6-2 6-3
05 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard R32 Nikolay Davydenko 7-5 2-6 6-4
05 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay R64 Fernando Verdasco 6-3 7-5
06 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay R32 Nikolay Davydenko 6-1 3-6 6-0
09 Roland Garros (France) Clay R16 Nikolay Davydenko 6-2 6-2 6-4
09 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Hard F Nikolay Davydenko 6-4 7-5