Monfils bests Federer in Paris semifinal

The 12th-seeded Frenchman struggled mightily to dispose of the Swiss superstar, eventually notching an exhausting 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-4) victory -- his first in six career matches against Federer.

With the hard-fought win, Monfils made the Paris finals for the second straight year. He went down to Novak Djokovic in the title match a year ago.

Soderling, meanwhile, saved three match points to rally and defeat French favorite Michael Llodra 6-7 (0-7), 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) in the other semifinal.

Thanks to Saturday's win, the Swede gained his fifth ATP Tour final of the year. He won the Rotterdam event and finished as runner-up at Bastad, Roland Garros and Barcelona.

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