Roddick, Djokovic, Troicki win at Swiss Indoors
Andy Roddick joined Serbian Davis Cup teammates Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki in advancing to the Swiss Indoors with straight-set wins Friday.
The fourth-seeded Roddick rode his big serve to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over David Nalbandian of Argentina. The American hit 11 aces and never faced a break point.
Roddick gained a semifinal against either top-seeded Roger Federer or Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, who were playing later Friday.
The second-seeded Djokovic, the defending champion in Basel, defeated 67th-ranked qualifier Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-3. He will play in Saturday's other semifinal against Troicki, who beat Richard Gasquet of France 6-4, 6-2 in a potential preview of a singles match at the Davis Cup final.
''It's the priority goal for the end of the year, to win that title,'' Djokovic said of when Serbia hosts France in Belgrade on Dec. 3-5. ''God knows if we are going to have another opportunity to play in the finals, especially at home.
''We have a quality team and if we all stay healthy and physically ready we have a chance to go the next step.''
While Djokovic is the undisputed team leader, Troicki is making a case for the second-singles selection.
''Now it's interesting to play against French players. There's a little bit more tension,'' said Troicki, who has earned career-best results since Serbia reached the final by beating the Czech Republic in September.
''That is what is keeping me going and motivated,'' said the 24-year-old Serb, the winner in Moscow and a semifinalist in Tokyo.
The 32nd-ranked Troicki will compete for singles duty in Belgrade with No. 46 Janko Tipsarevic.
Tipsarevic was courtside Friday, returning the favor after Troicki attended his second-round loss against Federer on Wednesday.
''This is our biggest strength - we have really good team spirit,'' Troicki said. ''We are good friends and not just during tournaments.''