Tipsarevic, Davydenko SF Clash Set In Moscow

© AFP/Getty ImagesNikolay Davydenko has won the Moscow title three times.

Top seed Janko Tipsarevic moved into the semi-finals of the Kremlin Cup with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 6 seed Dmitry Tursunov on Friday.

The Serbian broke Tursunov to start the match and closed out the first set in 34 minutes, saving three break points in the final game.

After the Russian denied Tipsarevic four opportunities to break serve in the opening game of the second set, Tursunov dropped serve in his next service game, giving the World No. 14 a 2-1 lead. Tipsarevic held comfortably the rest of the way through to advance in one hour and 16 minutes, evening his FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series with Tursunov to a 2-2 record. "It was my best match in a long time but now it will be even tougher against Davydenko," said Tipsarevic. "It is not great to play against three Russian players in Moscow but the crowd has been very fair, applauding my good shots."

Tipsarevic, who lifted his first ATP World Tour trophy in Kuala Lumpur (d. Baghdatis), has an outside chance of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, entering the week in 13th place in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Year-To-Date Rankings. He moved up to No. 11 with Friday's win, and can jump to No. 10 should he win the title.

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In the semi-finals, Tipsarevic will play fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko. The three-time former champion reached the final four with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over German Michael Berrer in 81 minutes.

The 30-year-old Russian has a 19-5 record at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament title including title successes in 2004, 2006 and 2007. His best result came in May, when he captured his 21st career ATP World Tour title at the BMW Open in Munich (d. F. Mayer), extending his title streak to nine straight years.

"I played well from the baseline but I am struggling with my serve," admitted Davydenko. "I can't serve at full speed but I have been able to win my first two matches in straight sets. I wasn't able to play in Beijing and Shanghai so I want to do well in the last few tournaments because I have points to defend."

Davydenko will next meet either top seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, who has a chance of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals next month, or sixth-seeded compatriot Dmitry Tursunov.

Second seed and defending champion Viktor Troicki kept his nerve to beat fifth-seeded American Alex Bogomolov Jr. 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 7-6(3) in a marathon three hours and 38 minutes. Troicki hit 23 aces for his 38th match win of the season, while Bogomolov saved 14 of 18 break points opportunities. The match tied the longest best-of-three sets match of season, when Rafael Nadal beat Fernando Verdasco in three tie-break sets at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati in August.

"Mentally and physically it was very tough and I am exhausted now," said Troicki. "I am in the semi-finals now and I hope I will be ready. Chardy is very talented and struggled a little bit this season but now is back in good form. I like playing here, it is almost like pkaying at home."

Troicki goes onto meet qualifier Jeremy Chardy, who reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final since July 2009 as he defeated Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-3 in 85 minutes. The No. 133-ranked Chardy last reached this stage of an ATP World Tour tournament at the 2009 MercedesCup in Stuttgart, where he went on to capture his lone title with victory over Victor Hanescu.

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