Top seed Robin Soderling was sent crashing out of the Malayisan Open after a shock straight-sets defeat to Andrey Golubev.
Top seed toppled in quarter-finals of Malaysian Open
Top seed Robin Soderling was sent crashing out of the Malayisan Open after suffering a shock straight-sets defeat to Andrey Golubev in the last eight.
The 23-year-old Kazakh was in control throughout the contest as the French Open finalist was swept aside 6-3 6-2 in only 71 minutes.
Soderling had become the clear favourite for the event in Kuala Lumpur after defending champion Nikolay Davydenko was eliminated in the second round.
However, he had no answer to world number 41 Golubev, who broke the Swede four times while never dropping his own serve.
"He played really well. I've played well for a few weeks now but I was not at my best," Soderling said after the match.
"I wish I could have played better. But I have to forget this match and concentrate on the big events in Beijing and Shanghai coming up."
Comeback
Golubev will face fifth seed David Ferrer in the last four after the Spaniard came back from a set down to defeat Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych 4-6 7-5 6-4 in a match lasting two-and-a-half hours.
The other semi-final will be an all-Russian affair after Igor Andreev and Mikhail Youzhny both came through their quarter-final matches on Friday.
Andreev ended the run of Canadian teenager Milos Raonic, although he was made to work hard for a 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory.
"It was a very tough match. He's got a lot of potential. I'm happy with how I played today, I was able to use my chances and earn the win," Andreev said.
"It's been a long time since I've played a semi-final. It's great to play well again and win some matches. It gives you confidence and a great feeling."
US Open semi-finalist Youzhny was also involved in a tight tussle as he fought back to beat sixth-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-1.
Youzhny broke serve seven times in the process of securing victory in two hours and 40 minutes.
