Roddick First into Semifinals
© Getty Images Andy Roddick became the first player to secure a semifinal berth at Tennis Masters Cup after overpowering Fernando Gonzalez 6-1, 6-4 Wednesday. The result had significant ramifications for the Red Group, specifically for defending champion and three-time Masters Cup winner Roger Federer. The ATP World No. 1 will qualify for the semifinals if he beats Roddick Friday. Federer could even qualify by losing against Roddick if Gonzalez loses to Davydenko, but it could come down to the ratio of sets won and lost.
The one thing that was clear Wednesday night was that Roddick had worked himself into his some of his best form of the season. Roddick dictated play as usual with his serve and forehand, but the continued improvement of his backhand will not have escaped the attention of his rivals. Roddick has been consistently improving his weaker wing under coach Jimmy Connors (who has not made the trip to Shanghai), but against Gonzalez Roddick showed that he could do damage with the backhand even when on the dead run.
For Gonzalez, the performance was a puzzling as it was frustrating, coming just two days after his stunning performance to snap a 10-match career losing streak against Federer. Gonzalez never recovered from a very shaky start. He dropped his opening service game and fell awkwardly twice in the space of four points, ending on his backside on both occasions. The Chilean, who made 13 unforced errors in the first set, also conceded his second service game as Roddick raced to a 5-0 lead.
Roddick, who made just seven unforced errors, said: "Some days you have good days where everything feels pretty clean, and this was one of those. "I wanted to take his time away. I didn't want to let him set up and try to hit those big shots. I thought I did that pretty well."
Looking ahead to his clash with Federer, Roddick said: "There's no reason for me to be nervous. I can go out there and let it fly... play aggressive and try to knock him out. I'm sure I'll have about seven other guys cheering for me to do that (smiling)."
"Today I was really, really tired. I mean, with my body, I feel really like heavy. It was really hard to me to move to one side to another. I need like maybe one or two more step to stop and go the other way.
"It wasn't a really good day for me. And Andy plays really good. I mean, he have an early break and then he get a lot of confidence winning the match."
Wednesday: Federer Claims First Win
Tuesday: Ferrer Outguns Nadal to Go 2-0
Tuesday: Gasquet Ends Djokovic's Tennis Masters Cup Hopes
Monday: Roddick Rolls Russian; Impressive Start
Monday: Gonzalez Snaps Losing Streak to Federer
Sunday: Nadal Battles Past Gasquet in Shanghai Opener
Sunday: Ferrer Makes in a Spanish Clean Sweep on Day 1
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