Nadal sets up semifinal against Djokovic in Paris

PARIS — Second-seeded Rafael Nadal gained a semifinal matchup against Novak Djokovic at the Paris Masters with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday.

Nadal played his best tennis of the week to end Tsonga's hopes of qualifying for the eight-man ATP World Tour Finals in London later this month.

Third-seeded Djokovic made the last four of the Paris tournament for the first time by beating Robin Soderling 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

"(Nadal) is a big champion and plays really well on all surfaces. He is a big fighter," Djokovic said.

Nadal, who returned to competition in October after a month off with a pulled stomach muscle, was taken to three sets on two occasions en route to the quarterfinals. But the Spaniard played with authority on the decisive points against Tsonga, who made 37 unforced errors.

Nadal struggled on his serve early in the first set, but managed to save five break points — including holding for 3-3 after going down 0-40.

He gradually found his rhythm and put Tsonga under pressure with a couple of strong returns, before breaking the Frenchman with a passing shot to lead 6-5. Nadal clinched the set with a forehand winner.

The Spaniard broke for a 6-5 lead in the second set when Tsonga missed two consecutive backhands.

The ninth-seeded Soderling also fell out of contention for the ATP finals with his loss, giving Spain's Fernando Verdasco the last available spot at the season-ending event.

Djokovic is looking for his fifth title of the year after beating top-ranked Roger Federer in the final of the Swiss Indoors last week.

"It looked tense (against Soderling) because physically I didn't really feel 100 percent," said Djokovic, who clinched his fifth straight win against the Swede. "I just hope I can recover for the upcoming challenge."

After splitting the first two sets, Djokovic and Soderling held their serves in a tense third set until the eighth game, when the Swede made two unforced errors and then double-faulted to give Djokovic three break points. The 22-year-old Serb converted the second when Soderling sent a backhand into the net.

In Friday's other quarterfinals, Frenchman Gael Monfils was taking on Marin Cilic, and Radek Stepanek played Juan Martin Del Potro.