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Djokovic and Roddick march on in Basel


 

Originally published on: 05/11/10 09:53

Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick each booked their quarter-final berths at the Swiss Indoors in Basel after posting regulation wins in the secnd round.

Djokovic, the defending champion and No.2 seed, was pushed out of his comfort zone at times against qualifier Jarkko Niemenen but still came through 6-4 7-6(6) in a match that closed in on the two-hour mark.

Andy Roddick found the going a little easier, blasting down ten aces as he rolled past Andrey Golubev 6-3 6-4. The American, who is in contention to qualify for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for an eighth successive season, next faces Argentine David Nalbandian.

Nalbandian posted what proved to be the day’s upset, knocking out No.6 seed Marin Cilic 4-6 6-4 6-4, though Swiss fans may not see victory for the four-time finalist that way. Nalbandian lifted the title in 2002 and was runner-up in 2003, 2004 and 2008.

Former world No.3 Nalbandian underwent hip surgery in February and is still working his way to find his previous best form.

“I feel good now. Who can say 100 percent after an operation? But I made a good recovery,” said Nalbandian. “I knew that if the surgery worked, I’d be back in tennis. If not, well, I had no choice, the hip pain was too much.

“I couldn’t make a very clean start after my surgery. I had some muscular problems. But I played well during the American summer and started feeling better.

“I’m just trying to play these last two events of the season well. My goal is to return to the top 10 in 2011.”

Elsewhere, Richard Gasquet came through 6-3 7-5 against Tobias Kamke, Radek Stepanek bounced back to defeat Santiago Giraldo 3-6 6-2 6-0 and Viktor Troicki received a free pass into the last eight when Paul-Henri Mathieu withdrew ahead of their match.

Next up for Stepanek is top seed and three-time champion Roger Federer, while Gasquet and Troicki will face off for a spot in the semi-finals. Djokovic faces Robin Haase.

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.