Nadal, Djokovic reach semis of season-ending tourney

Associated Press

LONDON

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic completed the semifinal lineup at the ATP World Tour Finals with straight-set victories Friday.

The top-ranked Nadal beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (3), 6-1 in the early match to leave Djokovic needing only one set to finish second in Group A and the third-seeded Serb defeated Andy Roddick 6-2, 6-3.

Nadal will meet Andy Murray in today’s opening semifinal as he bids for his first title at the end-of-season tournament. Djokovic plays Roger Federer.

Roddick began his match against Djokovic with an outside chance of reaching the semifinals but the eighth-ranked American was never in contention and was broken three times in a 65-minute loss.

Nadal, meanwhile, finished Group A with a 3-0 record and appears finally to be getting to grips with the surface at the O2 Arena, having lost all three matches on the same court last year.

“[To] finish the season winning all the matches in the group, three victories against top-eight players in probably the most difficult surface for me, is unbelievable now,” Nadal said after beating Berdych for the eighth straight time. “I’m very happy how I am playing, how I improved during the tournament.”

Roddick, who had qualified for the eight-man tournament for the eighth straight year, leaves London with an 0-3 record after a lackluster performance.

“Feel I’ve been struggling physically on and off for a while now,” Roddick said. “I am looking forward to resting for 10 days.”