Date:11/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/11/stories/2008051159901900.htm

Sport - Tennis

Djokovic to meet Wawrinka

ROME: Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek each retired from semifinal matches at the Rome Masters on Saturday, setting up a final between Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka.

Roddick pulled out with a back problem after falling 3-0 behind in the first set against Wawrinka.

“I felt a little something last night in my back when I was getting treatment. Then, one wrong movement and I had a complete spasm,” Roddick said. “I can’t really move my left arm right now. You can’t really play around that.”

Stepanek stopped while trailing Djokovic 6-0, 1-0 with an apparent wrist injury and also looked affected by the heat.

Djokovic holds a 3-2 career edge over Wawrinka.

Ivanovic loses

Elena Dementieva beat second-ranked Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final of the upset-filled German Open in Berlin. In Sunday’s final, she will face the 17th-ranked fellow Russian Dinara Safina, who beat 18-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 6-1.

Ivanovic was on the court for the second time Saturday after completing a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 quarterfinal win against Hungary’s Agnes Szavay. The match was halted Friday night by darkness.

The results: At Rome (Rome Masters): Semifinals: Stanislas Wawrinka bt Andy Roddick 3-0 retired.; Novak Djokovic bt Radek Stepanek 6-0, 1-0 retired. Quarterfinals: Andy Roddick bt Tommy Robredo 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4); Novak Djokovic bt Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 1-0, retd.

At Berlin (German Open): Semifinals: Elena Dementieva bt Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 7-5; Dinara Safina bt Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-1. Quarterfinals: Ana Ivanovic bt Agnes Szavay 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. — Agencies