Djokovic ends Soderling's hopes

Novak Djokovic ruined Robin Soderling's hopes of making the World Tour Finals by edging past the Swede 6-4 1-6 6-3 to reach the Paris Masters semi-finals yesterday.

World number 10 Soderling's defeat means the French Open runner-up will not go to London for the Nov. 22-29 season finale for the world's top eight players.

Serbia's Djokovic managed a break early in a first set featuring plenty of exciting rallies. Soderling broke back to level the set at 4-4 but Djokovic captured the Swede's serve again immediately and then served for the set, wrapping it up with his opponent hitting a backhand wide.

Soderling fought back in the second set, taking just 28 minutes to win it with an ace.

The third set was tight until Soderling dropped serve by netting a backhand to hand Djokovic a 5-4 lead. The Serb served for the match, sealing victory with Soderling missing a drop shot on match point to bow out after just under two hours.

Other results: Nadal bt Tsonga 7-5 7-5; Monfils bt Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-4.