Awesome Soderling demolishes Davydenko

Robin Soderling put in a magnificent performance to destroy No10 seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-1 6-3 6-1 and secure a spot in the semi-final of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. Anyone who thought that the Swede’s shock win over Rafael Nadal was a one-off should think again. Lest we forget, the No23 seed had already removed the dangerous David Ferrer in the third round before the historic upset of the four-time champion. In Tuesday’s quarter-final, he established himself as a real contender for the title by humbling his Russian opponent. Soderling was understandably upbeat after the match: "Yeah, you know, I think I didn't have a very easy draw. I played three very good clay court players and I played three very good matches, so of course my confidence is getting better and better." Stunning hitting Soderling was handsomely rewarded for his high-risk, aggressive and powerful play against a man he had defeated both times in their two previous meetings on clay, at Monte Carlo in 2006 and 2007. Targeting the corners at every opportunity, hitting long and true throughout, the Swede simply did not give Davydenko a look in, except perhaps in the first game of the match, when the Russian failed to capitalise on two break points. Soderling dealt with those in much the same way as he did virtually every point thereafter, by going for his shots. "I was a little bit lucky in the beginning. I saved two break points in the first game and I broke him straightaway. So instead of maybe being down 2 0 I was up 2 0, and then I think from then I played very well," said the Swede. A few stats reveal the extent of the damage. Davydenko only won five games all match. Soderling hit 34 winners to Davydenko’s 15 and incredibly committed more unforced errors – 28 to 25. He who dares wins: Soderling grasped the nettle and the rewards reaped from his high percentage tennis meant that the naturally more cautious Russian was on the back foot throughout the contest. Quickfire Swede Before Daydenko knew it, he had lost the first set 6-1 in just 23 minutes. He was already reeling, but gathered himself at the start of the second to emerge from his baseline shell and fight fire with fire. The result was some breathtaking tennis as the two traded blows, back and forth, until Davydenko cracked at 3-3, hitting two unforced errors to lose his serve. From thereon in, there was simply no coming back. Soderling maintained his depth and his accuracy, leaving Davydenko chasing shadows and shaking his head in impotent frustration. By the end, the No10 seed - celebrating his 28th birthday on the day of the match – was an utterly beaten man, having never looked likely to reach the semi-finals here for the third time in five years. Soderling, meanwhile, was keeping things in perspective: "If you'd ask me like four years ago, I'd say I will never reach a semis in Paris. But for every year, I think I started to play better and better on clay. Actually, I like to play on all surface. There's no surface that I don't like. Maybe so far I had my best results indoors, but then I think clay is my next best surface, actually." Nadal’s nemesis cannot be overlooked as a potential French Open champion now. He has been quite simply unplayable for much of the tournament so far, and if he is able to maintain this level of form, he will go all the way. What remains to be seen is whether the ultra-confident 24-year-old can keep on playing dream tennis on the greatest clay court stage in the world…