Originally published on: 26/11/10 23:15
Novak Djokovic cruised past Andy Roddick on Friday night to set up a mouthwatering Saturday semi-final clash with Roger Federer at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
The world No.3 entered his final round robin tie knowing that a solitary set would be enough to see him through to the last four – after Rafael Nadal had defeated Tomas Berdych in straight sets earlier in the day – but the 23-year-old comprehensively dusted off the American in straight sets all the same, recording a 6-2 6-3 victory in 66 minutes.
The result hands Djokovic his nineteenth tour meeting with the four-time champion, but despite his losing 6-12 record against the Swiss, the Serb is eagerly anticipating their latest clash.
“I think it’s great for the tournament to see us playing in the semi-final,” said Djokovic ahead of tomorrow’s meet with Federer, who he has lost to in their last two best-of-three sets meetings – in Basel and Shanghai – but defeated in thrilling fashion in the semi-finals of the US Open.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” anticipated the Serb. “Its a great achievement that I already reached the semi-final. I will try to give my best tomorrow night.”
As for Roddick, the American limply bows out of the tournament after an out-sorts-performance that has become all too common in recent months. Racking up a series of unforced errors in the first set, Roddick was broken twice in the 31-minute opener, before Djokovic claimed an early break after more errors in the second and raced away to victory.
“[I] feel I’ve been struggling physically on and off court for a while now,” admitted Roddick, who has managed only three semi-finals since winning in Miami in the early half of the year.
“I’m looking forward to resting for 10 days and then trying to get in shape,” said the Nebraska-native. Roddick struggled to find a consistent level of form after his fourth round exit at Wimbledon this summer and was later diagnosed with mononucleosis.
“It’s been a tough 6-7 months, since the beginning of May. Tonight’s not a whole lot different,” he said.
“It probably came to an end at about the right time. I’m looking forward to trying to get right physically before Australia comes.”
