Monfils books Stockholm semi-final with Raonic

By Bill Scott Oct 21, 2011, 21:02 GMT

Stockholm - Gael Monfils survived a late fightback from South African Kevin Anderson to advance 7-5, 7-5 on Friday into a Stockholm Open semi-final against Canadian Milos Raonic.

Raonic, seeded sixth, fired 14 aces to beat Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 6-4 as the Canadian plays only his third event since recovering from July hip surgery. Finland's Jarkko Nieminen engineered a comeback past German Tobias Kamke 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Unseeded former number 13 Nieminen is playing Stockholm for the 12th consecutive year and reached finals in 2001 and 2006.

The 30-year-old ended a nine-match loss streak this week to Top 20 opponents as he knocked out Swiss third seed Stanislas Wawrinka (ranked 19th) in the second round. His win over Kamke took two hours.

Two-time Stockholm champion James Blake, got a bye when Argentine opponent David Nalbandian withdrew prior to their match with a hamstring injury.

The 29-year-old Nalbandian had lost both previous matches with Blake, including Washington two months ago. Nalbandian is building for the Davis Cup final December 2-4 final against Spain in Seville.

Monfils lifted the opening set against Anderson and looked comfortable leading 5-1 in the second.,

But that's when the Frenchman's mind began to wander. Anderson recovered to 5-5, only to lose serve a game later as Monfils moved into winning position. The top seed advanced on his first match point.

'I played strong but had a drop in concentration in the second set,' said Monfils, still in with a chance for next month's year-end finals in London on provisional 15th place.

'Kevin went more for shots, it was easier to maybe move him around the court and challenge from the baseline. I played aggressive and I'm pretty happy.'

Raonic, ranked 29th, was pleased with a straightforward win. 'I took care of everything I needed to, hitting my serve and creating opportunities,' said the Canadian, 30-16 this season which has been marked by his first career title earned in February in San Jose which included a semi-final win over Monfils.

'I couldn't have taken care of server any better.'