Nikolay Davydenko advances to semifinals in Rotterdam, will face Robin Soderling

Davydenko advances to semis in Rotterdam

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko defeated Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-2 Friday to set up a semifinal match with Robin Soderling at the AMN Amro tournament.

Third-seeded Soderling powered past Julien Benneteau 6-0, 6-1.

After Soderling claimed the first set in 18 minutes, Benneteau won his first service game. But he couldn’t recover as the Swede converted all five break-point chances before wrapping up the rout in just over an hour.

Soderling lost the 2008 final to Michael Llodra.

Sixth-seeded Michael Youzhny, the 2007 champion, ousted No. 4 Gael Monfils 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. The Russian will face top-seeded Novak Djokovic, who advanced to the semifinals after his quarterfinal opponent Florian Mayer withdrew with a leg injury.