Djokovic rallies past Baghdatis in quarter finals

Basel, Switzerland  — Novak Djokovic fought back from losing the first set to beat Marcos Baghdatis 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the Swiss Indoors quarterfinals yesterday.

The top-ranked Djokovic stayed on course to meet hometown favorite Roger Federer in the final for a third straight year, after the defending champion beat Andy Roddick of the United States 6-3, 6-2.

Djokovic had his serve broken twice early on before recovering to seal a victory that took his record against Baghdatis to 6-0, and raised his 2011 record to 67-3.

“I started slowly, no life on the court, and he took his chances,” said Djokovic, playing his first tournament after a six-week break to heal a back injury. “My body is still getting used to this competition mode. I have to stay patient.”

The U.S. Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open champion will play 32nd-ranked Kei Nishikori of Japan in Saturday’s semifinals.

Nishikori beat Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in a match that featured 13 breaks of serve.

Federer will play his 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal-winning doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka. The Swiss No. 2 eased past Florian Mayer of Germany 6-2, 6-2.

In beating Roddick at Basel for the fourth time, Federer improved to 21-2 against the 2003 U.S. Open winner. He cruised to victory after breaking Roddick’s serve to lead 5-3 in the first set.

“It’s great to get those big momentum shifts going sometimes. It was a good performance from my side,” said Federer, who also is returning after six weeks off.

Roddick’s pay check this week raised his career tournament earnings over 20 million.

Djokovic came to Basel having not played since Sept. 18, and was pushed to three sets for the second time in three matches.

“It’s nothing I didn’t expect, but I’m winning matches and that is what matters most,” Djokovic said. /ap