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Roddick overcomes another court hiccup to reach semis
Djokovic moves on to semis after Tipsarevic retires
Serena rolls into semi-finals at US Open

Roddick overcomes another court hiccup to reach semis

Posted: 08 Sep 2011 05:57 PM PDT

NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters): Former champion Andy Roddick fumed over another snafu regarding court conditions on Thursday before shifting to another court to book his place in the U.S. Open semi-finals.

Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open winner, beat fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3, completing the quarter-final on distant Court 13 after a wet spot behind the baseline on Louis Armstrong Stadium court could not be fixed.

When they called Roddick and Ferrer back to the court, after using a vacuum cleaner and thin rubber hose and towels to try and fix the problem, the American was angered to see water still bubbling up to the surface.

"I'm baffled, I'm baffled. Why are we out here?" he railed at tournament referee Brian Earley. "Find us a court."

Roddick went back into the hallway and continued to vent his frustration at not getting on with his match, given the compressed schedule forced by two successive washouts at Flushing Meadows.

When the players were asked whether they would be willing to move to Court 13 rather than wait for a chance to get on the grandstand showcourt, Roddick said: "Let's go play, let's go play. We just want to play."

On Wednesday, Roddick, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray together lodged their complaints about being asked to compete in damp conditions to tournament officials before play was halted for the day.

Once resettled on Thursday at Court 13 after a delay of about one hour, Roddick played some of his best tennis to set up a last four showdown with Spaniard Nadal.

It was a rare trip outside the confines of the main courts for Roddick, who as the leading U.S. player for most of the last decade has exclusively played on the showcourts.

"I enjoyed it," said the 29-year-old Roddick. "I like playing kind of the smaller, more intimate stuff when I can.

"It was a little bit of everything. We had some Van Morrison wannabe playing music in the courtyard...there was a guy scaling the fence in the back for a second...(and) a couple of people wanted to do commentary from the service line.

"There was a repetitive screaming from the courtyard at one point. It was actually kind of shrill. It was a little stressful. It sounded like someone was getting hurt. So I don't know if that's what it's always like out there."

Djokovic moves on to semis after Tipsarevic retires

Posted: 08 Sep 2011 05:56 PM PDT

NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters): Top seed Novak Djokovic advanced to the semi-finals of the U.S. Open when his Serbian Davis Cup team mate Janko Tipsarevic retired in the fourth set of their quarter-final on Thursday.

World number one Djokovic was leading 7-6 6-7 6-0 3-0 when Tipsarevic, who had his leg strapped during the match, quit after three hours, 27 minutes of play at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"Congratulations to Janko for a fantastic tournament and a great effort today," Djokovic told the centre court audience. "He's a great friend of mine and it's not easy to play against him today."

Djokovic said he realised his compatriot was in trouble after the first two hotly-contested tiebreaker sets. The top seed won the first tie-break 7-2, and lost the second 7-3.

"I sensed when I made a break in the third set that he lost a lot of pace on his first serve and was not able to move so well," the Serb added.

Djokovic also gave onlookers a scare when he doubled over and called for the trainer after making a spectacular sliding forehand winner in the first game of the fourth set.

After getting the big toe on his left foot treated and bandaged, Djokovic went back to business before the 20th-seeded Tipsarevic signalled he had had enough.

"My left toe is bleeding," explained Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Djokovic. "These things happen all the time when you're sliding like I do."

Djokovic will meet the winner of Thursday's night match between five-time Open winner Roger Federer and France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Serena rolls into semi-finals at US Open

Posted: 08 Sep 2011 05:48 PM PDT

NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters): Serena Williams struggled with her serve in the first set before finding the range to score a 7-5 6-1 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open.

Three-time winner Williams lost serve three times in the opening set as the first six games went against serve before the American got on track, breaking the 17th-seeded Russian in the 12th game to end the opening set.

"It was a slow start, and once I lost serve, I was determined to break serve so I wouldn't be down a break," said Williams. "Then I just kept losing serve in the beginning. Very weird."

The 29-year-old Williams found a way to get fired up.

"I tried to move my feet a little better and just tried to get pumped up, because I felt like I wasn't at my best. I just tried to do everything just a little bit better."

The formula proved good enough. Williams ended up striking 26 winners, double the number posted by Pavlyuchenkova, who struggled to win points on her weak second serve.

Williams, who won 22 of 26 points on the Russian's second serve, got on a roll in the next set, losing just three points on serve and ending the 79-minute match with her sixth ace.

The victory lifted Williams into the last four against top-seeded world number Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, a 6-1 7-6 winner against 10th-seeded German Andrea Petkovic.

Wozniacki will play 13-time grand slam winner Williams on Saturday with the winner going onto the final, which will be played on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"I think everyone that lives in America ... has been affected by 9/11," said Williams, who is playing in just her sixth tournament this year due to injuries and illness. "I was in (Washington) D.C. at the time, and I just remember seeing a lot of Army trucks.

"It's hard to believe it's 10 years later, but it's good. Good we are kind of coming together, and New Yorkers and New York has been so strong."

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Khamis, 8 September 2011

The Star Online: Sports

The Star Online: Sports

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