Monfils edges into Stockholm semifinals

Gael Monfils controlled the middle section of his match Friday and claimed a semifinal slot at the Stockholm Open tennis tournament in Sweden. The top-seeded Monfils got past fifth-seeded Kevin Anderson 7-5, 7-5. He broke open a match that was tied 5-5 in the first by winning six consecutive games and then holding on for the victory. Monfils' serve was broken three times, including twice after building the 4-0 lead in the second set. He'll face sixth-seeded Milos Raonic in Saturday's semifinals. Raonic had 14 aces and didn't face a break point in beating Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 6-4. Raonic lost 10 points over 11 service games. Jarkko Nieminen rallied for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Tobias Kamke. After a first set in which he lost his serve three times, Nieminen saw just three break points the rest of the way. James Blake took the fourth semifinal spot when David Nalbandian was unable to play because of a hamstring strain. The Blake-Nieminen semifinal Saturday is a rematch of the 2006 title match when Blake won the second of his back-to-back Stockholm Open championships. Monfils and Raonic have never before met on the court.