Djokovic slips up in Sydney

Novak Djokovic missed his chance to leapfrog Roger Federer into the second place on ATP rankings when he was beaten 6-4 7-6 by Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen in the semifinals of the Sydney International on Friday.

Last year’s Australian Open winner, ranked third in the world behind Rafael Nadal and Federer, would have moved to a career-high second by reaching the final in Sydney but was outplayed by Nieminen, ranked 37 places below him at 40.

David Nalbandian, however, reached his 20th ATP Tour final with a 6 4, 6 3 win over Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the Sydney International semifinals on Friday. The 27 year old Argentine will face Nieminen in Saturday’s final.

In Kooyong, Stanislas Wawrinka set up a final clash with Swiss compatriot Roger Federer in the Kooyong Classic after a tight 7-6 6-7 6-4 victory over Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez on Friday.

In Auckland, Top seeded Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina will face American Sam Querrey in the Heineken Open final after both won semifinals Friday. Del Potro, who won four ATP tournaments in 2008, beat third seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden 6 4, 6 3, while sixth seeded Querrey recovered to edge David Ferrer of Spain 3 6, 6 3, 7 6 (4).