Nikolay Davydenko defeated Robin Soderling to set up a final clash with Fernando Verdasco at the Proton Malaysia Open.

Top seed Davydenko was blitzed by Soderling in the first set but turned things round in a tight second before going on to triumph 1-6 7-6 (7/1) 6-2.

Verdasco, who along with Davydenko is one of the players in contention for a spot at the ATP World Tour Finals in London next month, found things slightly easier against Fernando Gonzalez, winning 6-4 7-5.

Davydenko will be a firm favourite to pick up his third title of the season tomorrow after beating second seed Verdasco in all but one of their six previous meetings.

The Russian said: "I would love to win this tournament. I have the confidence to win but every match is different."

Verdasco is bidding for his second title of the season after winning in New Haven, and he told www.atpworldtour.com: "Tomorrow I will face a very tough opponent in the final. Nikolay is a very good player.

"He has been in the top 10 for a long time. He has beaten me more times than I have beaten him but I hope I can play my best tennis and win the title."