MELBOURNE, Australia – Andy Roddick made a painful quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open on Tuesday, playing with an injured shoulder for five sets before losing to Marin Cilic.
The 21-year-old Cilic, who ousted US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round, became the first Croatian man to reach an Australian Open semifinal with his 7-6 (4), 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 win.
Roddick needed a medical timeout for treatment on his right shoulder after the first tiebreaker and needed more attention while losing the second set, but he rallied surprisingly to win the next two and force a fifth set.
The 27-year-old American told the trainer he hurt his shoulder late in his five-set quarterfinal win over 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez and that, during the first set against Cilic, it was painful to serve and hit high forehands.
Cilic earned the pivotal service break at the start of the fifth set and held off Roddick, who has not come back from two sets down in a major since his semifinal win over David Nalbandian at the 2003 US Open.
His exit at Melbourne continues a record drought for American men at the majors, extending beyond six years since Roddick’s last title at the ‘03 US Open.
Former No. 1-ranked Justine Henin reached the semifinals in her Grand Slam comeback, beating Nadia Petrova , 7-6 (3), 7-5, to take out the last seeded player in her half of the draw.
Henin, unranked and playing on a wild-card entry at Melbourne Park, next will play Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie, who beat Russia’s Maria Kirilenko, 6-1, 6-3, to equal her Chinese record for the best run at a major.
Henin went down a break in the second set before finding the range with her powerful groundstrokes and winning seven of the next nine games to finish off No. 19-seeded Petrova.
“I just went for it with my heart. Finally I could make it, and I’m very happy,” Henin said. “At the end I played much more aggressive tennis.
“I didn’t want to go to the tiebreaker. I wanted to close out the match.”
The 27-year-old Belgian beat Petrova on Jan. 4 at the Brisbane International in her first match back on tour after almost 20 months in retirement.
Henin reached the Brisbane final, where she lost in three sets to fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters. It was Clijsters’ win at the US Open last September, in the third tournament of a comeback from two years in retirement, which inspired seven-time Grand Slam winner Henin to return to the tour.
Now she’s two wins from emulating Clijsters’ triumphant Grand Slam comeback. (AP)