Davydenko, Puerta reach French Open semifinals Wednesday

Davydenko, Puerta reach French Open semifinals Wednesday
June 1, 2005
PARIS (Ticker) - Nikolay Davydenko was able to accomplish something fellow Russian Marat Safin could not - outlast Spaniard Tommy Robredo in a five-set French Open thriller.
Davydenko, the 12th seed, edged No. 15 Robredo on Wednesday, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in 3 hours, 18 minutes, to advance to his first Grand Slam semifinal.
The third-seeded Safin lost to Mariano Puerta in the fourth round on Monday, 8-6 in the fifth set.
Davydenko - who turns 24 on Thursday - will face Puerta in a most unlikely semifinal at Roland Garros on Friday. Earlier Wednesday, the unseeded Puerta bested fellow Argentine Guillermo Canas, the ninth seed, 6-2, 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the penultimate round and continue his finest Grand Slam run.
"Well, it's something very special to find yourself in the semifinals," the 26-year-old Puerta said. "When I got to Paris two weeks ago today, I had the idea I was going to make it to the second week. It's something that I can't even realize yet. I can't believe I've reached the semifinals, and I really want to enjoy this moment and prepare myself the best possible for the best semifinals."
In the second quarterfinal Wednesday, Davydenko was up a break at 4-3 in the fourth set but promptly lost the next three games, two on his serve.
In a wild fifth set, the Russian jumped out to a 2-0 lead, lost the next three games, then won the next three to grab a 5-3 advantage. He blew three match points in the ninth game before saving two break points in the final game. Davydenko finally won the match when the 23-year-old Robredo sent a backhand wide after a long rally.
"In the fifth set, well, it was 3-3, then there was a break," Robredo said. He wasn't feeling so well. Me neither. But I was probably feeling better than him at that point. I think that would have been the key to the match, really. I tried to make the break, and then in the end, he made the break. And I tried to break back, but it got a little complicated for me."
"(The) key, it was fighting, fighting. Like try to fight every ball," Davydenko said. "Just try to do something what you can do, because Robredo play well from baseline. He just could move."
Davydenko, who claimed the title at the claycourt event in St. Poelten in Austria two weeks ago, has won 10 straight matches and 14 of his last 15.
"(I'm) feeling something happy, yes, because first time in a semifinal in a Grand Slam," Davydenko said. "I reach Top 10 now in ranking."
Robredo never has faced Davydenko in a Tour-level event, though he posted a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over the Russian in a Challenger event in Seville five years ago...
Updated on Wednesday, Jun 1, 2005 2:39 pm EDT
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