Nadal, Djokovic advance to Paris semis; London field set
Paris, France (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal of Spain and Serbia's Novak Djokovic won quarterfinal matches at the Paris Masters on Friday, victories that also set the field for the season-ending ATP World Finals.
The second-seeded Nadal dethroned defending Paris Masters champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in a 7-5, 7-5 decision, while the third-seeded Djokovic claimed a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 triumph over Sweden's Robin Soderling.
Both Tsonga and Soderling were in the running for the final spot in the exclusive eight-man field for the World Finals, which will be played in London starting November 22.
Soderling, the French Open runner-up, needed to reach the final of this event to have a chance at qualifying for the London championship, while Tsonga needed to successfully defend his title this week to earn his way to the English capital. Instead, it will be Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the eighth and final spot.
Verdasco, who lost to Croatia's Marin Cilic in the third round of this event on Thursday, will join Roger Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Roddick and Nikolay Davydenko in the London field.
Djokovic, who beat Federer in the world No. 1's hometown of Basel for the Swiss Indoors title last Sunday, won the season-ending event last year. He will face Nadal in the semifinals of this event on Saturday.
Saturday's other semifinal will be determined by the winners of Friday's late quarterfinals. Cilic and Gael Monfils will meet in one quarterfinal, while del Potro and Radek Stepanek will square off in the other.
This week's winner will claim $675,000.
11/13 12:56:29 ET
