Roddick advances to Aus Open semis after Djokovic retires

Third-seeded Djokovic had just had his service broken to go down 2-1 in the fourth set when he went to the side of the court and told umpire Carlos Ramos he could not continue.

He shook hands with Roddick before leaving Rod Laver Arena,with outside temperatures reaching 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).

Djokovic had a medical timeout after recovering a service break to lead 2-1 in the third set and complained of heat-related problems.

Roddick,the 2003 U.S. Open champion,won the next five games to finish off the third set,taking the last 11 points.

Djokovic,who beat Roddick in the quarterfinals at last year’s US Open,finally held the opening game of the fourth set after nine minutes but was visibly slowing down and irritated.

“To be honest I didn’t know (he was sick) until he called for help there. That’s disappointing,” Roddick said. “I feel bad for Novak right now.

“He worked so hard for this last year. To not get a fair chance to defend his title,that’s too bad.”

Roddick had only lost two points in five service games in the second set and,growing up in Florida,there was no question of his stamina. As Djokovic wilted in the heat,draping towels packed with ice around his neck during changeovers,and lingering in the shade behind the baselines as long as possible,Roddick ran to the side of the court.

“It was really difficult,conditions were extreme,” Djokovic said.

The 21-year-old Serb said he’d requested a night match because his fourth-round win over 2006 runner-up Marcos Baghdatis didn’t end until 2:26 a.m. Monday and he didn’t get to sleep until 6 a.m.,so he was unable to practice.

Djokovic beat Roger Federer in the 2008 semifinals and collected his first major title by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final.

That was the only Grand Slam title in the last 15 not won by either Federer or No. 1-ranked Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic went out in the semifinals at the French and US Opens and the second round at Wimbledon last year,before finishing off by winning the season-ending Masters Cup.

The 21-year-old Serb has a history of retiring in big matches at the majors. He failed to finish his quarterfinal against Nadal at the 2006 French Open and his semifinal against the Spaniard at Wimbledon in 2007.

Roddick will next play either No. 2 Roger Federer or No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro,who were to meet in a night match.

Federer is seeking a record-equaling 14th Grand Slam singles title.

Djokovic was the fourth player in two days to retire from a big singles match at Melbourne Park. In the fourth round Monday,Serena Williams advanced when 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka,dizzy and in tears,pulled out in the second set of their fourth-round match because of a virus.

Williams next plays No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova,who advanced when Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie injured her left wrist in a tumble and retired two games later at 2-1.

Gilles Simon made the semifinals for the first time at a major when his friend and fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils withdrew because of an injured right wrist after the third set.

A heatwave was tipped for Melbourne this week,with temperatures expected to top 40 C (104F).

The heat was slowly rising,so wasn’t a major issue in the opening match Tuesday when Vera Zvonareva ran off 11 straight games in a 6-3,6-0 win over 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli.

It was the 24-year-old Russian’s best performance in 25 major tournaments.

“I’m very excited about it,” said seventh-seeded Zvonareva,who cut her unforced errors from 15 in the first set to two in the second. “I think it was a great day for me.”

Bartoli,seeded 16th,had ousted top-ranked Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round.

“I think she played just unbelievably well,” Bartoli said of the last 11 games. “She barely missed one ball after that. I was hitting as hard as I could. She was always coming back with some better shots.”