Roddick Overcomes Grosjean and More

WIMBLEDON, England â€”  When his forehand went missing in the first set and the inevitable close calls surfaced Wednesday in a five-set Wimbledon quarterfinal match against Sebastien Grosjean of France, Andy Roddick stayed calm.

It was a far cry from the way he handled things when he needed five sets to win a second-round match against lucky loser Daniele Bracciali of Italy. Then, the A in A-Rod stood for agitated.

But by the time Roddick and Grosjean were deep into a fifth set on Centre Court, the only A on display had to do with the grade of Roddick’s game. The second-seeded Roddick defeated the 10th-seeded Grosjean, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, in 2 hours 45 minutes, reaching the semifinals here for the third consecutive year.

In that round Friday, he will play former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden. Johansson defeated David Nalbandian of Argentina, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2, in the quarterfinals. In the marquee semifinal, two-time defending champion and top-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland will meet third-seeded Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.

Federer defeated Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2), and Hewitt rallied from a service break down in the first set to defeat Feliciano Lopez of Spain, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (2), serving 15 aces.

There has been a fair amount of controversy about the men’s seedings at Wimbledon. Roddick, ranked third in the world, was moved ahead of Hewitt by virtue of his three straight titles at Queen’s Club, even though Hewitt won Wimbledon in 2002.

“I would definitely like it to have been the final, obviously,� Hewitt said of the semifinal matchup with Federer. “ ... It’s a strange situation. I don’t know how many times it would have happened that the top two ranked players would be playing in the semifinal in a Slam.�

Federer is 9-8 against Hewitt and has defeated him seven straight times.

Said Federer: “He’s beaten me enough to believe in his chance. He knows. He hasn’t been playing any tournaments. We don’t know how hard he worked, how much he’s changed his game and what he’s got. And on grass I think anything can happen against him. He knows how to win the title here.�

It’s rare when Roddick is on the undercard. Not that he will be complaining, of course.

This could be the turnaround Grand Slam event of his short career and the perceptive 22-year-old seems to realize it. He came here having lost his last five five-set matches since the semifinals of the U.S. Open in 2003 and has reached one Grand Slam final since winning the Open in 2003.

“It feels good to win a couple five-setters in a row,� said Roddick, who had 14 aces and did not double fault once. “Who knows, one more, maybe it will be called a winning streak.�

Despite the variety and precision of Grosjean’s game, Roddick was running lighter after the Bracciali match, having shed the five-set onus.

“Yeah, I feel freer, a lot freer,� Roddick said. “There was some heat on me coming into this tournament, as you know. I wanted to prove that I’m still a pretty good tennis player. I’m not gone. I’m 22 years old.

“I’m still up in the world, still competing for Slams basically, three out of four of them, throughout the year. I felt like I still deserved a little bit of respect. But that being said, I’d love to take it further. I’m not satisfied yet.�

On Wednesday, Roddick, in addition to staying “even-keeled,� did a good job of moving his serve around after losing the first set. He started going down the middle more in the second set, and went back to that option more frequently in the fifth.

In the second round, he changed tactics by taking the net in the fifth set.

“The biggest thing I’ve always said is it gives me another option,� he said. “It came up huge in my second-round match. Maybe two years ago, I might have lost that. It just gave me a Plan B. I think that’s huge, to have options out there.�

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Of the women’s semifinalists, the youngest, 18-year-old Maria Sharapova of Russia, has experienced Grand Slam title success most recently. The second-seeded Sharapova is the defending Wimbledon champion. Her opponent today in the semifinals, Venus Williams, has not won a Grand Slam title since the U.S. Open in 2001.

Third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France has yet to win a major, and her semifinal opponent, top-seeded Lindsay Davenport, last won a Grand Slam title in 2000. Davenport has defeated Mauresmo seven consecutive times and has lost to her only three times in 11 matches.

The history between Venus Williams and Sharapova is not as extensive. Sharapova, on a 22-match grass-court winning streak, is 2-0 against Williams.

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Australian doubles star Todd Woodbridge, 34, announced that he will be retiring after Wimbledon. The surprise move will have an impact on the next round of Davis Cup. Australia will be playing host to Argentina next month in the quarterfinals, and Woodbridge was supposed to partner with Wayne Arthurs in the doubles.

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Tough on turf

Roger Federer’s 34-match grass-court win streak:

2003

HALLE, GERMANY

First Round -- def. Sargis Sargsian, 7-5, 6-1.

Second Round -- def. Fernando Vicente, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Quarterfinals -- def. Younes El Aynaoui, 7-5, 7-6 (3).

Semifinals -- def. Mikhail Youzhny, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

Championship -- def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-1, 6-3.

WIMBLEDON

First Round -- def. Lee Hyung-taik, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Second Round -- def. Stefan Koubek, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.

Third Round -- def. Mardy Fish, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

Fourth Round -- def. Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4.

Quarterfinals -- def. Sjeng Schalken, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Semifinals -- def. Andy Roddick, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-3.

Championship -- def. Mark Philippoussis, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (3).

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2004

HALLE, GERMANY

First Round -- def. Thomas Johansson, 6-3, 6-2.

Second Round -- def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-2, 6-1.

Quarterfinals -- def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3, 7-5.

Semifinals -- def. Jiri Novak, 6-3, 6-4.

Championship -- def. Mardy Fish, 6-0, 6-3.

WIMBLEDON

First Round -- def. Alex Bogdanovic, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0.

Second Round -- def. Alejandro Falla, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0.

Third Round -- def. Thomas Johansson, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

Fourth Round -- def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5).

Quarterfinals -- def. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-1, 6-7 (1), 6-0, 6-4.

Semifinals -- def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Championship -- def. Andy Roddick, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

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2005

HALLE, GERMANY

First Round -- def. Robin Soderling, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4.

Second Round -- def. Florian Mayer, 6-2, 6-4.

Quarterfinals -- def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3, 6-4.

Semifinals -- def. Tommy Haas, 6-4, 7-6 (11).

Championship -- def. Marat Safin, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4.

WIMBLEDON

First Round -- def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

Second Round -- def. Ivo Minar, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.

Third Round -- def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-5.

Fourth Round -- def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (6).

Quarterfinals -- def. Fernando Gonzalez, 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2).

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Women’s semifinals

Today at Wimbledon (5 a.m., ESPN2; delayed at noon, Channel 4)

No. 1 Lindsay Davenport vs. No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo

* No. 2 Maria Sharapova vs. No. 14 Venus Williams