Nalbandian and Soderling ease into Stockholm showdown (Roundup)

By Bill Scott Oct 11, 2008, 14:49 GMT

Stockholm - David Nalbandian and Robin Soderling both hammered outclassed opponents Saturday to roll into a high-voltage final at the Stockholm Open.

Argentine top seed Nalbandian polished his indoor form in anticipation of next month's Davis Cup hadrdourt final with Spain as he crushed two-time finalist Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-1.

It went even smoother for Soderling, losing finalist to Mardy Fish in 2003, as he took less than three-quarters of an hour to defeat hampered Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori, 6-1, 6-0.

Nishikori, headed for a career-best Top 60 ranking at age 18, will now rest a knee which has given him trouble all week at the Kungligahallen.

'I felt the knee on long points and sometimes when I hit, but that's not why I lost. He played too well - I couldn't do anything,' said the young talent who already won a title from Delray Beach in Florida last February.

Nalbandian spent just 64 minutes in advancing into his third final of 2008 after winning Buenos Aires in February and finishing runner-up in Acapulco a week later.

'It was not easy for Jarkko when I'm playing like this, I was hitting winners everywhere. I like indoors, the conditions are perfect,' Nalbandian said of his rout.

'I really played good today, like I've done all week. I hope to keep going like this tomorrow as well.'

Nalbandian still insists that he doesn't care if he qualifies for not for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai next month, preferring to devote his energies to the November 21-23 Davis Cup date in Mar del Plata.

The South American has won four out of five matches against Soderling, his lone loss coming in 2005 on clay in Hamburg.

Nalbandian stands a victory away from his third indoor title in two seasons after sweeping the Madrid and Paris Masters titles last autumn.

But even though that effort put in him as an alternate to Shanghai in 2007, he skipped the trip.

He says that he is almost certain to do the same even if he qualifies for the eight-man wrap-up event, where he currently stands on provisional seventh place with three weeks of the regular ATP season to go.

Nalbandian will be competing in his 17th career final on Sunday and was the first Argentine into the Stockholm semis since Guillermo Canas seven years ago.

Nieminen got no closer to the title at what he considers his home event after losing finals in 2001 and 2006. The Finn, ranked 33rd ended with a double-fault disappointment.

Nalbandian now stands 33-13 on the season.