Second-seeded Robin Soderling defeated Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2 in the Valencia Open on Friday, gaining his first semifinal since July. Soderling served out the victory in 53 minutes -- clinching it with his fifth ace. "Score-wise, yes, it was a little easier than I expected," said Soderling, who hadn't reached the last four since losing the Bastad final in his native Sweden. "But I played extremely well today." Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=5768628