Andy Roddick nearly pulled off a Jimmy Connors-like comeback Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open against Marin Cilic, fighting back from a two-sets-to-love deficit with a bum right shoulder, only to fall short in a 7-6 (4), 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 marathon.
Roddick took a medical treat timeout for a pain in his right shoulder that affected his serve and high forehands. After slumping through losing the second set, Roddick appeared destined for a straight set lost, as many east coast American TV viewers began turning off their sets at 1 am to prepare for work the following day. Roddick, however, just started to get back to work, showing grit and resolve and fighting back to even the match at two sets to love. Cilic jumped to a 4-1 lead in the final set, but held on as Roddick tried to stage one more comeback bid.
Cilic reaches his first career Grand Slam semifinal and becomes the first Croatian to reach the men’s semifinal of an Australian Open. He will next face Andy Murray, who defeated defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-6, 3-0, ret., Nadal retiring due to a right knee injury.
“It wasn’t easy,” said the relieved No. 14th seeded Cilic of beating Roddick. “But I had experience — it was his third five-set match of the tournament — during the week.
“In the fifth set I had a few extra gears. He started to play better and I struggled on serve.
“He was putting the pressure on and I didn’t know what to do. But point by point, starting win the first game when I held from 0-40 down, I managed.”
Roddick said he was not sure what prompted the injury, but he started to feel it in the tail end of his five-set win over Fernando Gonzalez on Sunday in the round of 16.
“I felt it a little bit the other night, the cold weather, trying to hit through those for a little while,” said Roddick. “I didn’t hit yesterday, and felt pretty good today in warm up, and the first couple games, then I think I aggravated something.”
“By the end of the first set, I was pretty numb in the bottom two fingers,” he said. “ I could still hit it pretty hard; I was just having trouble controlling it, you know.”
“I started kind of almost going sidearm for a little bit, or at least what it felt like. That was working for a while, I think until he realized I was having trouble.”
Roddick, however, saluted his opponent and contemplated what might have been a comeback for the ages.
“I knew I wasn’t going to stop, but I didn’t know what I was going to be able to come up with,” he said. “To be able push it and have a shot, I thought it was a pretty good effort.”
Cilic fired 19 aces against 13 for the injured Roddick.