Nalbandian rolls on

David Nalbandian had little trouble reaching the final of the Stockholm Open on Saturday.

The top-seeded Argentinian needed just 64 minutes to beat Finnish third seed Jarko Nieminen 6-2 6-1 in the semi-finals of the hardcourt event.

Nalbandian, who crushed seventh-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-3 6-2 in the last eight, is favourite to lift the title in Stockholm as the only top-30 player in the field.

Despite dropping his serve for just the first time this week in the opening set, Nalbandian hit back with six breaks of the Nieminen serve to extend his head-to-head lead over the Finn to 6-4.

Nalbandian has an 8-8 record in ATP finals and is bidding to win his second title this year after clinching the Buenos Aires trophy in February.

He also finished runner-up at Acapulco the following week.

"I think I played a great match, didn't miss one shot in two sets," said Nalbandian. "I hope to play the same way tomorrow."

The world number seven will face fourth seed Robin Soderling, who dismantled Japanese wild card Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-0.

The 18-year-old Nishikori, who upset eighth seed Marcel Granollers in the opening round, had advanced to an ATP semi-final for the first time since his remarkable title run at Delray Beach in February.

Nishikori upset top seed James Blake in the final of that event, becoming the first Japanese player since 1992 to win on tour.

Stockholm semi finals
1-David Nalbandian (Argentina) def. 3-Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) 6-2 6-1
4-Robin Soderling (Sweden) def. Kei Nishikori (Japan) 6-1 6-0