Djokovic beats Roddick at Open; Federer advances

[September 05, 2008]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Novak Djokovic heard what Andy Roddick said about him and didn't like it one bit.

Still, as much motivation as Djokovic might have derived, and as well as he played in their U.S. Open quarterfinal Thursday night, Roddick's own uncharacteristic serving miscues had a lot to do with the 2003 champion's 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) loss.

After working his way back from a huge deficit, Roddick was two points from forcing a fifth set at 5-4, 30-love in the fourth. But he double-faulted twice in a row and was broken for the fifth time -- twice more than he lost serve in his first four matches combined.

"You know what? I honestly don't feel like they were super-tight doubles," Roddick said. "I had been playing pretty high-risk, high-reward tennis to get back and I probably wasn't about to stop."

But the first question Roddick was asked had to do with his verbal squabble with Djokovic, who took offense at comments the American made about how ill and injured the Serb was after the previous round. Both men sought to smooth things over in their news conferences.

"It was completely meant in jest," Roddick said, pausing to choose the right words. "I should know better. But listen, I joke all the time. I don't think anyone in their right mind takes me serious."

In Djokovic's prior match, a five-set ordeal Tuesday against No. 15 Tommy Robredo, the reigning Australian Open champion called for the trainer more than once as he dealt with hip, ankle, stomach and breathing issues.

Asked then about Djokovic's problems, Roddick kidded around, checking whether the list shouldn't also include bird flu, anthrax, SARS and a common cold and said: "He's either quick to call a trainer or he's the most courageous guy of all time."

What seemed to rile Djokovic the most was what Roddick said in an on-court interview that day: "I've got to feel good. He's got about 16 injuries right now."

After beating Roddick, ending the match with a 125 mph serve that drew a long return, Djokovic made reference to those words.

"That's not nice, anyhow, to say in front of this crowd that I have 16 injuries and that I'm faking," Djokovic said during a postmatch interview that drew boos from the spectators in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"They're already against me, because they think I'm faking everything."

Later, the players spoke privately -- and said they would keep the conversation private. Both were contrite afterward.

"He made a joke and it was a misunderstanding, so I don't blame it on him," Djokovic said, after getting nearly an hour to consider his on-court statements. "Maybe I exaggerated and reacted bad in that moment. I apologize."

The third-seeded Djokovic advanced to a semifinal meeting against Roger Federer. It's a rematch of last year's U.S. Open final, which Federer won for his fourth consecutive title at Flushing Meadows.

Federer -- bidding for a 13th major title, one shy of Pete Sampras' record -- beat qualifier Gilles Muller 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (5) Thursday, extending his own record by reaching the semifinals at an 18th consecutive Grand Slam tournament.

Djokovic is 2-6 against Federer and called him the "absolute favorite," but also noted: "It's a bit strange, though, to see No. 2 next to his name."

No. 1 Rafael Nadal will face No. 6 Andy Murray in the other semifinal.

Against the eighth-seeded Roddick, Djokovic grew increasingly agitated when spectators called out as he was trying to serve or in the middle of points.

With Djokovic serving at 3-3 in the fourth set, he watched Roddick's backhand winner fly past to set up break point and yelled, "Shut up!" in the direction of the stands, then cursed. Roddick followed with another backhand winner to cap a 12-stroke exchange and take the lead in the set.

But he couldn't hold it.

Serving at 5-4, having held nine times in a row, Roddick opened with a 142 mph ace and a 143 mph service winner. At 30-love, he was two points from being all tied up.

And right there, all so suddenly, everything came apart.

First, Roddick pushed a forehand wide. Then he double-faulted, not once but twice, to hand over a break point. And Djokovic didn't let the opportunity pass by, delivering a perfect lob winner to get to 5-5.

At 5-5 in the tiebreaker, a 15-stroke point at the baseline concluded when Roddick missed a backhand slice into the net.

"A bad shot," Roddick conceded.

Seconds later, the match was over, and Djokovic was pounding his fists on his chest.

And only moments after that, he was inciting jeers -- a stunning turnaround from a year ago, when Djokovic endeared himself to the New York fans with his stylish play, his sense of humor and his spot-on impersonations of other players.

"I figure if you're going to joke and imitate other people and do the whole deal, then you should take it. Listen, if someone makes fun of me I'm most likely going to laugh," Roddick said. "I'm sorry he took it that way. ... I don't think I was over the line. It wasn't my intention, and, you know, I'm sorry he felt that way. Maybe I did him a favor tonight."

The men's semifinals and women's final are all scheduled for Saturday, but tournament organizers have seen forecasts calling for about 12 hours of rain and wind at up to 35 mph that day. So they began the process of negotiating with TV networks and preparing contingency plans, including weighing the possibility of announcing Friday that no tennis would be played Saturday, and that the men's final would be shifted from Sunday to Monday.

"Physically I've been struggling in this tournament so any extra day of relaxation and just recovery would be good for me, of course," said Djokovic, who also defended his practice of calling for trainers, pointing out it's within the rules.

In the women's semifinals Friday, two-time champion Serena Williams faces Dinara Safina, and Jelena Jankovic meets Elena Dementieva. One of the four will move up to No. 1 in the rankings after the tournament.

Federer spent a record 237 consecutive weeks atop the rankings from February 2004 until last month, when Nadal supplanted him. That's only one of several streaks Federer has seen snapped in 2008.

He reached a record 10 consecutive major finals, until losing to Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals in January. He won a record-tying five consecutive Wimbledon titles, until losing a 9-7 fifth set to Nadal in near-darkness in July. He was seeded No. 1 at 18 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, until Nadal relegated him to No. 2 at this one.

"There's a lot at stake for him, obviously, as far as, you know, not having won a major this year and losing a No. 1 ranking. So he seems to be obviously very focused and is playing better," said Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. Davis Cup captain who also is coaching Roddick.

"I don't think he's playing quite at the level that he was in the last couple years," McEnroe added, "but he's certainly capable of turning it around."

It will be Djokovic, not Roddick, who tries to stop Federer's 32-match winning streak at the U.S. Open.

[Associated Press; By HOWARD FENDRICH]

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