INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) - Having to play two matches Thursday did not seem to affect American Andy Roddick on Friday at the $600,000 RCA Championships. Roddick, the top seed and defending champion, cruised into the semifinals of the U.S. Open warm-up hardcourt event with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over sixth seed Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia.
On Thursday, Roddick outlasted Swiss qualifier Michel Kratochvil, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, in a second-round afternoon match suspended by rain, then defeated No. 15 Robby Ginepri of the United States, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, in a night match that was delayed by rain.
Roddick awaits No. 10 Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia in the semifinals Saturday. Ljubicic, who reached his first semifinal since a claycourt event in Hamburg in May, edged third-seeded Sebastien Grosjean of France, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. In the 12th game of the first set, Ljubicic had to be treated off court by ATP trainer Paul Ness after getting stung in his buttocks by an insect.
"I saw it in the game before that, it followed me over on the changeover," Ljubicic said. But after dropping the set, Ljubucic stepped up his play. "I had just hit a forehand and a felt sharp pain. Everything seemed to be going against me," he said. "But it may have been the key to the match."
In Friday's first quarterfinals, unseeded Frenchman Gregory Carraz defeated Israeli qualified Noam Okun, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. He faces the winner of Friday night's match betwen fourth seed Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand and No. 12 Nicolas Kiefer of Germany. First prize is $74,250.