Roger Federer moved onto the semifinals of the 2011 Sony Ericcsson Open after a quarterfinal match that lasted six minutes. France’s Gilles Simon retired at 3-0 after he was broken twice and asked for a medical break. He went off to the court in boos, which Federer said Simon didn’t deserve. Simon retired due to a stiff neck, which he said he tried to relax during warm up.
2011 Sony Ericsson Open Update: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic Advance, Mardy Fish Top American
"Just after the second forehand, I tried to hit it very hard; I felt it very hard also," Simon said. "I knew I had no chance to play today."
If world No. 1 Rafael Nadal wins his quarterfinal match, he will meet The Fed in the semifinals.
As for the world No. 3, Novak Djokovic is off to the best start of any tennis player since Ivan Lendl in 1986. A 6-4, 6-2 win over South Africa’s Kevin Anderson extended Djkovic’s win streak. He hasn’t dropped a match in 2011 in his last 22. His last 24 if we’re counting his two Davis Cup wins in December.
Lendl won 25 of his first 25, but John McEnroe holds it with 39 in 1984. The 23-year-old Serbian, for the time being, has forgotten how to lose.
‘When you win 24 times in a row, you obviously get confident and can really believe in your shots. You go for your shots, it keeps coming back to you,’ was how Djokovic summed up his wondrous state.
It took 12 years, but Mardy Fish became the top ranked American today after defeating David Ferrer 7-5,6-2 in Miami. He is ranked a career high No. 11, replacing Andy Roddick as the best in America. Fish doesn’t believe he deserves the rank above Roddick.
"With Andy and the career he‘s put together, it would be pretty tough to feel I was the number one American," said the modest Floridian. "He‘s won so many more matches, so many more tournaments, so many more Davis Cup matches. So I don‘t think I would ever feel like the number one."
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