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Montanes upsets Davydenko at Open Sud

Albert Montanes of Spain rallied from a set and break down to beat top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) in the quarterfinals of the Open Sud de France on Friday.

Montanes won on his third match point when Davydenko’s weak backhand return hit the net. The Spaniard will play either fourth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic or Jarkko Nieminen in his first career indoor semifinal.

Davydenko’s seventh ace gave him the opening set and he looked in total control when he broke for a 2-0 lead in the second with a superb crosscourt winner.

But a sloppy sixth game ended with Davydenko’s two-handed backhand into the net, allowing Montanes to pull level at 3-3. Davydenko then missed another chance in the 11^th game when Montanes saved a break point with a net volley.

Montanes wasted his first match point, serving at 5-4 in the third set, as Davydenko pressured him into unforced errors on his backhand.

But Montanes broke straight back for another chance to close out on serve at 6-5, then missed his second match point when Davydenko’s crisp forehand bounced inside the line.