Soderling tames Davydenko to stay in hunt for London spot

PARIS (Reuters) - Swede Robin Soderling kept alive his slim hopes of making the World Tour Finals in London by beating Russia's Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 3-6 6-4 in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday.

World number seven Davydenko, seeded sixth in a tournament he won in 2006, would have made sure of entering the November 22-29 season's finale featuring the world's top eight players had he reached the quarter-finals.

French Open runner-up Soderling, the world number 10, needs to reach at least the final here to book a trip to London while Davydenko remains in contention but with his fate now out of his hands.

Six players have already qualified for the World Tour Finals with the last two tickets up for grabs in Paris.

Soderling broke Davydenko in the fourth game to take the first set but the Russian replied with an early break in the second set which he went on to claim with a backhand volley.

The final set was tight, both players holding serve until Davydenko gifted his opponent two match points with an unforced error and hit a backhand long on the first to bow out.

Ninth seed Soderling faces Serbia's Novak Djokovic or Frenchman Arnaud Clement for a place in the last four.

(Reporting by Patrick Vignal, editing by Justin Palmer)