Tennis

Your email address is safe with us. View our Privacy policy.

The Funnies:

Get free jokes, comics, and more! See them all on
our funnies page

Weather:

Accurate national, regional, and local forecasts on the weather page

Federer, Djokovic reach U.S. Open semis

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. (UPI) -- Roger Federer kept alive his hopes for a fifth straight U.S. Open title Thursday and Andy Roddick saw a rally come up short against Novak Djokovic.

Federer reached the semifinals of a major championship for a record 18th time, holding off qualifier Gilles Muller 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).

Roddick then fell behind by two sets against Djokovic, but won the third and was up a break in the fourth before finally coming up short.

The third-seeded Djokovic prevailed 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) to earn a semifinal meeting with Federer. It was only the third match ever between Roddick and Djokovic, and Djokovic has won two of them.

The other semifinal, which was determined Thursday, will send No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal against Andy Murray. It will be the first grand slam semifinal in Murray's career.

Federer, who lost his No. 1 ranking to Nadal last month, won five of the last six points in the third-set tiebreak to defeat Muller for the third time in as many meetings.

It was the 32nd consecutive match victory at the U.S. Open for Federer, who defeated Djokovic in last year's final.

The women's semifinals will be held Friday, with Elena Dementieva meeting Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina playing Serena Williams.

Tournament officials warned of a gloomy weather forecast for Saturday, during which the men's semifinals and women's title match are scheduled.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 09/05/2008

Share this Story