Technically, Davis Cup play doesn’t start for the French for a little over two weeks.  Next week, the tour takes a one week break, then only the top 8 will play in the year-end ATP World Tour Finals.  The week after that, the Davis Cup finals between France and Serbia takes place.

Even so, it seemed as if France was already playing Davis Cup with Michael Llodra in one semifinals against the hard hitting Swede, Robin Soderling, and Gael Monfils against top seed, Roger Federer.  Both matches went the distance.  Llodra fought off a break point in the first set to get into a tiebreak, which he won 7-0, employing a rarely seen strategy: serve-and-volley and chip-and-charge.  It doesn’t hurt that Llodra is also a lefty.

Llodra is a throwback to the 1980s, and in addition to the strengths he has as a serve and volleyer, he also has the usual weaknesses.  He’s not particularly good at defending from the backcourt.  He’s not going to crack winners from back there, and if he’s attacked, he’s not a great passer either.  If Llodra were more a millenial player, one that could hit shots, say, at the level of a Tipsarevic, but could also come into net, he might be quite formidable, but he might also lack the commitment to come to net.  His deficiencies at the baseline are usually a strong indication that he needs to be at net at all times.

Players like Mardy Fish and Taylor Dent are said to be serve and volleyers, but honestly, they head to net much less frequently, probably because they get passed more often, or at least in Fish’s case, he’s a pretty proficient baseliner.

Soderling had to do all he could to salvage this match, and it eventually came down to a third set tiebreak, 8-6, before the rangy Swede eked out the victory against the partisan crowd and his opponent across the net.  Llodra had his chances to, having 3 match points to pull the upset, but the tall Swede came through.

It was thought that Llodra might have the better chance to pull the upset, especially with Roger Federer in solid form.  In a week that saw Djokovic and Murray fall by the wayside, Roger must have licked his lips at the opportunity to win another Masters title, and without the usual suspects in his way.

But 2010 has proved a trying year for Roger.  He had match points against Marcos Baghdatis, and lost.  He had a match point against Tomas Berdych, and lost.  He had 5 match points against Monfils–and lost!

Monfils was down 0-30 in a 5-6 service game, and it seemed the great Swede would use his calm demeanor to rattle the up-and-down Frenchman.  Monfils double-faulted to go 0-15.  Roger then clipped the net on the next return, watched the ball dribble over, and secured a second point.  Federer would get to 15-40, and then get 3 more chances, and yet, the speedy Monfils seemed to get to just enough balls, and Federer seemed to make just enough errors, that Monfils escaped the dire predicament.

Federer fell a mini-break early, and then as it seemed he might recover, he shanked yet another forehand, perhaps the only top player that mishits so badly since Borg was number 1.

And so Monfils, the finalist last year, used the crowd, his speed, Roger’s occasionally erratic play, to secure his place in the final.  This is not an unusual place for Monfils, who reached the finals last year, only to fall to Novak Djokovic.  He faces Robin Soderling, and it will be a constrast in style, between the hard hitting Swede, and the quick, acrobatic Frenchman.

Soderling has a 2-0 record over Monfils.  He recently beat Monfils in Valencia, rather easily.  The two hadn’t played before that in 5 years.

The final 8 for the ATP World Tour Finals has been set.  Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Murray, Soderling, Berdych, Ferrer, and Roddick make the 8.  Berdych is perhaps in the worst form of the 8.  Neither of last year’s finalists, Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Martin del Potro, qualified this year.