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Roddick, Del Potro in Semifinals
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Three-time Champion Andy Roddick defeated bullet-serving Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 7-6 on Friday to book a spot in the semifinals of the Washington tennis Classic.
Roddick won the tie-breakers 7-4 and 7-5 to set up an all-American affair with John Isner, who beat Czech Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 at the $1.4 million hardcourt event.
Fernando Gonzalez knocked out Tommy Haas of Germany 7-5, 6-4 and will face holder Juan Martin Del Potro, who progressed to the last four when Robin Soderling withdrew with an elbow injury.
Roddick weathered 13 Karlovic aces on the way to his fifth win against the Croatian in a match featuring unusually long rallies for two of the hardest-hitters in the game.
The 26-year-old American said the unseasonably cool weather in Washington on Friday evening may have made the court slower.
Having never previously broken Roddick’s serve, 30-year-old Karlovic went up a service break in each set, but Roddick battled back both times to force a tie-breaker.
Gonzalez needed an hour and 23 minutes to subdue the tenth-seeded Haas, who was bidding to reach his fourth successive semifinal.
“He was hitting the ball pretty hard from the forehand side,” said Haas. “He is a very tough player to face. It is really hard to do anything when he starts hitting forehands.”
Maria Sharapova overcame problems with her new service motion to outlast Urszula Radwanska on Friday and book a place in the semifinals of the L.A. women’s championships.
Sharapova beat the eighth-seeded Pole 6-4, 7-5 to set up a semifinal clash against tenth-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy, who had a surprisingly comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win over second-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia.
In other quarterfinals, 13th-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur beat China’s Zheng Jie, seeded 14th, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Stosur’s semifinal opponent will be Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, who beat Agnieszka Radwanska — Urszula’s sister — 7-6(4), 1-6, 7-5.
Sharapova, still finding her way after shoulder surgery that sidelined her for nearly 10 months, is working on an abbreviated service motion to take pressure off the joint.
“I made a lot more errors than I wanted to. In the second set, just kind of went off,” she said. “I created so many bad habits. Eventually it’s going to work itself into place.”
At Washington: (Legg Mason Classic): Quarterfinals: Andy Roddick bt Ivo Karlovic 7-6(4), 7-6(5); John Isner bt Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-7(10), 6-2; Juan Martin del Potro w/o Robin Soderling; Fernando Gonzalez bt Tommy Haas 7-5, 6-4.
At Los Angeles: (LA Women’s Championship): Quarterfinals: Sorana Cirstea bt Agnieszka Radwanska 7-6(4), 1-6, 7-5; Samantha Stosur bt Zheng Jie 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Maria Sharapova bt Urszula Radwanska 6-4, 7-5; Flavia Pennetta bt Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 6-2.
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