Soderling was not overly stretched in beating Mikhail Youzhny

Robin Soderling comfortably brushed aside Mikhail Youzhny to reach the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, winning 6-1 6-4.

Youzhny shocked the number five seed by breaking his serve in the first game of the match but Soderling clicked into gear and was not overly troubled again.

The Swede will now meet Tomas Berdych after the Czech giant-killer battled back to see off Fernando Verdasco.

Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick meet in the other semi-final on Friday.

Soderling's win means he has now reached his second straight Masters 1000 semi-final, following up on his trip to the final four at Indian Wells where lost to Roddick.

"I played really well from the back of the court," said Soderling. "I was moving well and didn't miss much. But I didn't serve quite the way I wanted to.

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"I served really well the past three matches here, but today it wasn't so good. Hopefully I can improve on that tomorrow."

Sixteenth seed Berdych, who had eliminated world number one Roger Federer in the previous round, endured another gruelling battle to defeat Spain's Verdasco 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in just under three hours.

There was little to choose between the pair in a bruising encounter, with both Berdych and his Spanish opponent each saving seven out of nine break points.

"It was a great match, definitely," said Berdych, who had beaten Federer in the early hours of Wednesday.

"The beginning for me was a little bit slow, because I was still feeling a little bit tired after the long, long match against Roger, finishing that late in the night.

"You know, just get to sleep like 3.15, 3.30 in the night. I like to sleep, but I didn't get my best sleep. But then finally I get the rhythm, start to play really well.

"I think the beginning of the third set Fernando was a little bit struggling. He was maybe a little bit tired. But that was my advantage. I'm very happy that I can use it and go through."

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