Novak Djokovic apologised for his verbal attack on Andy Roddick in the wake of his 6-2 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7/5) quarter-final victory at the US Open yesterday, claiming he had misunderstood the American's comments that he had 'faked' injuries.
Third seed Djokovic raced into a two-set lead at the Arthur Ashe Stadium before Roddick battled back to claim the third. A closely contested fourth went into a tie-break and the 26-year-old was just two points away from taking the match into fifth set at 5-4.
However, Roddick double-faulted twice in a row before Djokovic served out to win the match and set-up a last four meeting with world number two Roger Federer.
Roddick had jokingly commented that Djokovic had faked '16 injuries' during his victory over Tommy Robredo in the fourth round prior to the encounter.
But Djokovic took offence and used a courtside interview to attack Roddick, much to the displeasure of the partisan crowd, who promptly booed him off court.
‘I know they (the crowd) are already against me because they think I am faking everything,’ said the Serbian.
‘That's not nice to say in front of this crowd that I have 16 injuries and that I'm faking it.’
However, an apologetic Djokovic later admitted during his post-match press conference that he had misinterpreted Roddick`s joke.
‘Unfortunately, Andy made a statement, and I don't think it was intentional,’ he added. ‘He made a joke and it was a misunderstanding.
‘I exaggerated and I reacted bad in that moment. I apologise if I reacted like that. It was just impulsive and I had a lot of emotions in the last two days.’
Up next for Djokovic is Federer who advanced to his 18th consecutive semi-final in a Grand Slam with a grinding 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 7-6 (7/5) victory over Gilles Muller of Luxembourg.
Despite winning in straight sets, Federer was overshadowed statistically by Muller, who finished with more aces (16 to 7) and winners (46 to 42) than the world number two.
However, Muller also committed 32 unforced errors to Federer's 19.
‘I'm happy I won first of all,’ Federer said. ‘After the tough match I had last time, it's nice to get through in straight (sets).
‘This was a tough opponent who has been playing very well in this tournament and showed why he was so dangerous today.’
Although he could only manage one break of serve against the world number 130, the Swiss star kept alive his bid for a fifth consecutive title at the US Open, winning his 32nd consecutive match at Flushing Meadows.
‘I'm happy to keep the semi-final streak alive,’ Federer added. ‘That's a huge streak for such a long time. I have played well in this tournament, so I'm really happy to keep it alive and give myself an opportunity to be in the final four.
‘I hope this time around, I can take it a step further than I did in Paris or Wimbledon.’
