Soderling Tops Youzhny; Ljubicic Edges Baghdatis To Set Tsonga Clash

© Henk KosterIvan Ljubicic recorded his second win in six meetings with Marcos Baghdatis.

In a repeat of last year’s ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament final, World No. 4 Robin Soderling defeated Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 7-6(5) on Friday evening to reach the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 indoor hard-court tennis tournament in Rotterdam.

The Swede saved four break points in the first set before breaking in the 10th game to clinch a one-set lead. The second set was also a keenly contested affair, with both players squandering break point chances before Soderling prevailed in the deciding tie-break after one hour and 54 minutes. As well as beating Youzhny in the 2010 final, Soderling also finished runner-up in 2008 (l. to Llodra).

“It was another tough one,” said Soderling. “Even though I played a long one yesterday [against Philipp Kohlschreiber] I felt fine on court today. I had a lot of energy and I really had to play well today. I really like it here; every time I come back here I feel confident and it’s a surface that suits my game.”

The 26-year-old Soderling is chasing his second ATP World Tour title of the season after triumphing in Brisbane (d. Roddick) in the first week of the year. Having also reached the fourth round at the Australian Open (l. to Dolgopolov), he improved to an 11-1 match record on the season.

Soderling next will play Serbia’s Viktor Troicki, who saved nine of 10 break points he faced in a 7-5, 6-3 win over Croatian Marin Cilic. Troicki, a finalist in Sydney (l. Simon) in the second week of the season, improved to a 10-3 record on the year.

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Seventh seed Ivan Ljubicic inched towards a third final appearance in Rotterdam after edging Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(4).

The Croatian, who finished runner-up in 2005 (l. to Federer) and 2007 (l. to Youzhny), was pushed the distance by the unseeded Baghdatis, against whom he went into the match with a 1-4 record. Ljubicic looked set to wrap up a straight-sets win as he held match point at 6-5 in the second set tie-break. He failed to convert, though, and Baghdatis seized the initiative to level the match.

Again Ljubicic ascended to a winning position in the third set as he broke for a 4-3 lead. Again, though, Baghdatis pegged back the big-serving Croatian as he levelled at 4-4 and forced another tie-break. However, where he had been passive in the second set tie-break, Ljubicic approached the decider with aggression and was rewarded as he clinched victory in two hours and 24 minutes. Ljubicic was especially potent on serve in the encounter, firing 18 aces and winning 85 per cent of points behind his first serve.

“It was a very difficult match,” reflected Ljubicic. “I felt the second set was pretty even. I had a match point on serve but he made a great return and I lost that tie-break. It felt really bad, actually. The third set was, again, very even and I decided to play a little more aggressively in the tie-break and at the end it paid off."

Watch:  Ljubicic Interview |  Troicki Interview  

The 31-year-old Ljubicic will bid to reach his 24th ATP World Tour final when he faces eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals. The Frenchman advanced at the expense of fourth seed Tomas Berdych, who was forced to withdraw suffering from flu.

“Jo didn’t play today so it’s a little advantage for him. I had a tough one today, so he’s definitely going to feel better physically than me tomorrow. We have very similar games, big serve and going for our shots. So I’m sure it’s going to be a very entertaining match,” concluded Ljubicic, who has promised to buy everyone in the stadium a drink should he win the title this week.