Roddick into semis; Zheng upsets Ivanovic

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-27 09:25

BEIJING - Andy Roddick overcame four double faults in the first set to beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday and reach the semifinals of the China Open.

Andy Roddick, of the United States, celebrates his quarter-final win over Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. Roddick won 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. [Agencies]

The second-seeded American, who tossed away another racket in anger in the second set, served 23 aces to beat the Spaniard.

Roddick will face unseeded German Bjorn Phau in the semifinals, with Dudi Sela of Israel playing Rainer Schuettler of Germany in the other.

Roddick fell behind early as Ferrero found a weak spot.

"He had a little bit of a different strategy than he normally does," Roddick said. "He came in and attacked my forehand."

Roddick grew so frustrated that he slammed his racket into the court after one missed shot, breaking the head in half.

Andy Roddick, of the United States, carries his broken racquet off the court after smashing it against the ground during his quarterfinal match against Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing Friday Sept. 26, 2008. [Agencies]

"That racket didn't want to be here anymore and I had to let it out," Roddick said.

Asked if losing his temper helped, Roddick shrugged.

"I can give you 20 examples of when it's helped, and I can give you 20 when it hasn't," he said. "Tonight I thought it was necessary. I was a little uneasy. And you know I'm not going to do it, just to do it. I was pretty upset, pretty fed up with the way I was playing."

In women's quarterfinal play, No. 2-seeded Ana Ivanovic was ousted by home favorite Zheng Jie 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-4. A semifinalist at Wimbledon, Zheng overcame the French Open champion and former No. 1-ranked Serb, whose serves and ground strokes were erratic.

In the three other quarterfinals, No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia beat Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 7-5, 6-1; No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia defeated Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-4 and Russian No. 5 Vera Zvonareva beat Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-0, 6-1.

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic (R) and Zheng Jie are seen in this combo image after Zheng defeated Ivanovic at the China Open Friday. [Agencies]

In the semifinals, Zheng plays Kuznetsova and Zvonareva faces Jankovic.

Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng had noisy support from home fans at the Beijing Tennis Center. She is the only Chinese woman still playing in the tournament after four others lost in the first round. She also beat Ivanovic en route to the Wimbledon semifinals.

"This is a good win for me," she said. "It was in China and in front of my home crowd. There were lots of fans supporting me, which gave me even more motivation."

Ranked No. 30 by the WTA, Zheng is hoping the ranking points earned in China will push her past her previous career high of No. 27.

Ivanovic has battled hand and leg injuries since winning in Paris, which has limited her play and confidence. However, she described her match Friday as "one of the best" since the French Open.

"I haven't had many matches in the last three months," she said. "Since the Frencn Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.