BASEL, Switzerland (AP)—Roger Federer made short work of Andy Roddick this time, winning 6-2, 6-4 in the Swiss Indoors semifinals on Saturday in their first rematch since the epic 2009 Wimbledon final.
Federer broke Roddick’s serve twice in each set and fired 13 aces to the American’s four to win in 69 minutes. “He couldn’t serve an ace for a long time, and that’s always a good sign you’re getting a decent read on his serve,” Federer said.
“It’s unfortunate my bad serving day came today,” Roddick said. “I was just a little bit out of rhythm. You can’t afford to do that against Roger.” The top-seeded Swiss improved his career record to 20-2 against Roddick. “For some reason it always kind of works well for me against Andy,” Federer said.
Federer will face defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday. Djokovic beat his Serbian Davis Cup teammate Viktor Troicki 7-6 (4), 6-4. “It’s obviously a difficult final,” said Federer, whose streak of three Basel titles was ended by Djokovic. “It’s as tough as they come on a quick indoor court.”
“Looking back over this week, there’s more positives than negatives,” said Roddick, who will play in the Paris Masters next week. The second-seeded Djokovic was pushed harder for his victory. He saved three set points in the first trailing 6-5, 40-0 on Troicki’s serve.
“I was very lucky to get out of the first set and I regained my confidence,” said Djokovic, who forced a tiebreaker after starting a run of winners with a blistering forehand return. “I closed my eyes and hit it as hard as I could. That’s what we were joking about.”
Longtime friends, Djokovic and Troicki walked off the court laughing with an arm around each other’s shoulders. They’ll likely play singles for Serbia when it hosts the Davis Cup final against France on Dec. 3-5.
photo by AFP / FABRICE COFFRINI
Federer broke Roddick’s serve twice in each set and fired 13 aces to the American’s four to win in 69 minutes. “He couldn’t serve an ace for a long time, and that’s always a good sign you’re getting a decent read on his serve,” Federer said.
“It’s unfortunate my bad serving day came today,” Roddick said. “I was just a little bit out of rhythm. You can’t afford to do that against Roger.” The top-seeded Swiss improved his career record to 20-2 against Roddick. “For some reason it always kind of works well for me against Andy,” Federer said.
Federer will face defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday. Djokovic beat his Serbian Davis Cup teammate Viktor Troicki 7-6 (4), 6-4. “It’s obviously a difficult final,” said Federer, whose streak of three Basel titles was ended by Djokovic. “It’s as tough as they come on a quick indoor court.”
“Looking back over this week, there’s more positives than negatives,” said Roddick, who will play in the Paris Masters next week. The second-seeded Djokovic was pushed harder for his victory. He saved three set points in the first trailing 6-5, 40-0 on Troicki’s serve.
“I was very lucky to get out of the first set and I regained my confidence,” said Djokovic, who forced a tiebreaker after starting a run of winners with a blistering forehand return. “I closed my eyes and hit it as hard as I could. That’s what we were joking about.”
Longtime friends, Djokovic and Troicki walked off the court laughing with an arm around each other’s shoulders. They’ll likely play singles for Serbia when it hosts the Davis Cup final against France on Dec. 3-5.
photo by AFP / FABRICE COFFRINI
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