Monfils downs Anderson in Stockholm Open

French top seed Gael Monfils struggled to hold onto a second set lead, but still battled to a 7-5, 7-5 win over South Africas Kevin Anderson on Friday to set up a Stockholm Open semi-final against Canadian Milos Raonic.Both players are coming back from injury, with Raonic playing his third event after July hip surgery while Monfils is back after a fortnight away with a knee problem.The sixth-seeded Raonic unleashed 14 aces as he hammered Bulgarias Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 6-4 to reach his fourth semi-final of the season.Raonic took his 2011 record to 30-16, including 11 indoor wins and just one loss.The second semi will pit double Stockholm champion James Blake against two-time Finnish finalist Jarkko Nieminen, who kept his title hopes alive with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 quarter-final victory over German Tobias Kamke.Blake advanced without playing as the Davis Cup final hopes of David Nalbandian took a hit when the Argentine was forced to pull out before their match due to a hamstring injury.Blake, who has had his own injury worries for the last few seasons, had beaten Nalbandian in both of their previous meetings, including two months ago on hardcourt in Washington.Monfils won the first set against fifth-seeded Anderson but had troubles closing out the second.Monfils remains the only player in the Top 15 without a title this season.