Andy Roddick has made the semifinals of Australian Open 2009 after ill opponent Novak Djokovic was forced to retire in the fourth set of their quarterfinal clash on Tuesday afternoon at a warm Rod Laver Arena
With temperatures hovering in the mid-30s, Roddick was leading 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2 2-1 when Djokovic, the men’s singles champion in 2008, retired after two hours and 29 minutes.
Djokovic was clearly not himself from the beginning of the third set, and laboured for the final 11 games of the match battling cramps and heat stress before taking the decision to withdraw.
The first set, which lasted 50 minutes, went on serve before Djokovic stole an early 4-0 lead in the tiebreak after some blistering groundstrokes. The Serb then ran Roddick around the court, putting away a forehand volley for a 5-2 lead, and, on serve, crushed a forehand into the open court to win the tiebreaker 7-3. Neither player was forced to defend a break point opportunity in the set, while Djokovic’s 16 unforced errors for the set largely negated his 21-10 advantage over Roddick in winners.
In the second set, Roddick earned the first two break points of the match in the seventh game and after 77 minutes of play, converting the break on the second of them and jumping to a 4-3 lead. The American then held a set point in Djokovic’s next service game, but the Serb recovered to hold and trail 4-5. Roddick then served out the set 6-4, producing four monster first serves and finishing the set winning 17 of the 18 points when he landed his first ball, serving at 82 per cent for the set. Djokovic won just two points on the Roddick serve for the set, which lasted 41 minutes.
Roddick continued his momentum into the first game of the third set, breaking Djokovic immediately only for the Serb to repay the favour in the very next game. Roddick held two break points in the following game, which went to deuce three times before Djokovic held serve to take a 2-1 lead. A distressed Djokovic then called for the trainer at the end of the third game of the set, with ice being rubbed into his calves and quads at the subsequent medical time-out. After Roddick held, the American broke Djokovic again to take a 3-2 lead after a superb backhand chip down the line which Djokovic could only drive into the net. Roddick then broke the Serb in the seventh game to love, Djokovic serving his fourth double fault of the match to fall behind 2-5. Roddick then comfortably served out the 45-minute third set to love, winning 32 points to Djokovic’s 19 for the set.
Djokovic saved four break points in a seven-minute opening game of the fourth set to hold for 1-0, and after Roddick held for 1-1, he broke Djokovic to love in the next game. Djokovic then retired, handing Roddick his passage to the final four.
The American, who has now qualified for his fourth Melbourne Park semifinal, will play the winner of tonight’s quarterfinal between Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina and three-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer of Switzerland in the semifinals on Thursday night.
Quick facts
Roddick served at 71 per cent for the match, and had 16 aces to Djokovic’s eight
Djokovic had 39 unforced errors to Roddick’s 14
Roddick won 87 per cent of points when his first serve was successful
Both players recorded 43 winners
Roddick’s fastest first serve was 224km/h
Djokovic converted his only break point chance, while Roddick was 5-for-12 (42 per cent) on break point opportunities
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