INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — No. 7 Andy Roddick beat defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-2 Friday and will face No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Nadal, trying for his second Indian Wells title in three years, rolled to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Juan Martin del Potro.
No. 2 Roger Federer, who won the title three consecutive years beginning in 2004, faces No. 4 Andy Murray on Saturday in the other semifinal.
Roddick’s game was solid all-around against No. 3 Djokovic. The error-prone Serbian made 30 unforced errors, 18 more than his American opponent.
“I don’t think he had his best day, by any means,” Roddick said. “I mixed up the paces pretty well. I hit my forehand when I had to. The chip was a pretty good neutralizing shot for me.
“I was hitting it pretty firm, and I didn’t really miss any returns. I think that’s a big thing for me.”
Djokovic was frustrated with his shoddy play.
“It’s just one of the days when you really don’t feel comfortable on the court,” he said. “I just didn’t have any momentum — no feel for the ball, no movement. Just no solutions. It was all me making an incredible amount of unforced errors.
“This was one of the worst matches, certainly, I played.”
Roddick shortly afterward played doubles with partner Mardy Fish. They defeated Richard Gasquet and Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4, 7-6(4) to earn a spot in the final.
The singles semifinals appearance will be Roddick’s third at Indian Wells. He lost to Lleyton Hewitt in 2005 and to Nadal in 2007.
Nadal covered the court extremely well in his win over del Potro, keeping the ball in play even when the Argentine had him racing from side to side. Often, Nadal would be on the run and slash a winner crosscourt or down the line. He hit 25 winners, 13 with his forehand.
Nadal, who has won four of six career meetings against Roddick, figures he’s in for a difficult test in their semifinal.
“He’s playing very well. He started the season very well, semifinals in Australia. He played the final in Doha, too, and he won in Memphis,” Nadal said. “It’s going to be a really tough match. I have to play very well, serve well and focus all the time, play aggressive on the return.”
Nadal, who supplanted longtime No. 1 Federer at the top of the rankings last year, is playing in the desert tournament for the fifth time. He has made it at least to the semifinals each of the past four years and took the title in 2007 with a win over Djokovic.
On the women’s side, defending champion Ana Ivanovic and Vera Zvonareva earned spots in Sunday’s final. Ivanovic defeated upset-minded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-3. Zvonareva beat Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-3.
No. 7 Ivanovic, a 21-year-old Serb, dominated the 17-year-old schoolgirl from Moscow, who had upset No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 10 Agnieszka Radwanska on the way to her first tour semifinal. Pavlyuchenkova came into the desert tournament ranked No. 42.
The reigning French Open champion who held the No. 1 spot at two different times last year, Ivanovic is going for her ninth tour title.
Zvonareva and Azarenka will be on the same side Saturday in a title match, meeting Gisela Dulko and Shahar Peer in the doubles final.
“We’ve been playing pretty good here,” Zvonareva said. “She’s a very nice girl and good partner, so I’m enjoying it. Then I will have to come back for my singles (on Sunday), which I’m very excited about.”
Meanwhile, Azarenka was not so happy after her lopsided loss in singles.
“I didn’t do even 10 percent of my game today. It was a wasted match,” Azarenka said.
No. 6 Zvonareva, a 24-year-old from Moscow, made it to the championship for the first time in five appearances at Indian Wells. She previously had advanced as far as the quarterfinals in the event three times, including last year when she lost to eventual champion Ana Ivanovic.
“It’s my first finals here and it’s a big event, great tournament, and I’m really happy about it,” Zvonareva said.
The 19-year-old Azarenka, from Belarus, lost for only the second time in 19 matches this year. Zvonareva improved to an identical 17-2.
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