Gasquet’s spirit was down after the early break in the second. A double fault at 2-4 set up another break point, which Troicki converted with a passing shot winner. Troicki, who didn’t face a single break point, served out the match, 6-4, 6-2, and a visibly frustrated Gasquet couldn’t get off the court quickly enough. 

While the day before, Gasquet had claimed he didn’t see any special significance to the match in regards to the upcoming Davis Cup Final between France and Serbia, Troicki said the Final had been on his mind both before and during Friday’s meeting. “There is a special tension playing a French player now,” he told the press afterwards. Troicki, who, during the match was supported by fellow Serbian player Janko Tipsarevic, went on to explain what he sees as his team’s biggest advantage: “Team spirit is our greatest strength. We have been friends for a really long time, and not just during tournaments, but at home, also. I am very happy we’ve made it together.”

Later in the day, his Davis Cup teammate Novak Djokovic added,  “It is the chance of a lifetime for us.  Who knows when we would ever have a chance to win the Cup again,, together and at home?”  For Djokovic, winning the Final is “the one goal left for the year.” But he insisted, “Of course I play every tournament to win it.”  As for this week, the No. 2 seed is playing to defend his title, and, following his 6-2, 6-3 dismissal of Dutch qualifier Robin Haase, his record in Basel remains perfect.

Despite the score, the first set was actually much closer than the second. Djokovic started slowly, dropping five break points before finally breaking Haase after an 11-minute opening service game.  He then promptly surrendered his own serve the next game.  Djokovic regained the advantage to go up 4-2, but quickly found himself down three break points yet again. This time, however, he fought back to hold and broke Haase for the set.

Haase took a medical timeout after the first set to receive treatment on his right wrist. Possibly hampered by injury, but definitely frustrated by the missed chances, Haase immediately lost his serve again to open the second set. It remained the only break of the set, with Djokovic holding comfortably in each of his service games to win the match.

Veterans’  Night

The night session belonged to the “New Balls Please” generation. Up first were David Nalbandian of Argentina and the American No. 4 seed Andy Roddick. It was just their sixth career meeting, the last one dating back to the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, and the most important one coming at the 2003 US Open, when eventual champion Roddick had fought his way back from a two set deficit to reach the Final.

Both have been struggling with illness this season, but showed good form in this tournament. With Roddick’s serve set up against Nalbandian’s return ability, the match was expected to be a close encounter, yet turned out rather lopsided.  Nalbandian found himself under pressure from the start, struggling to hold his serve, while never getting an opening on Roddick’s. The American displayed a smart mix of patience and offense, but Nalbandian’s own errors hurt his game just as much. Too often the Argentine would surrender a baseline rally he initially dictated with an unforced error.

Roddick broke Nalbandian in the fifth game of the first set, and the first game of the second set.  That was all he needed to see off the Argentine, 6-4, 6-4.

In the Semifinals, Roddick will take on Roger Federer, who came through easily against Czech wildcard Radek Stepanek.  Stepanek charged the net as often as possible, however with mixed results. While it helped him to save the first two break points against him, his approach shots often weren’t good enough, leaving Federer enough room to pass him for a winner. Even though the Swiss No. 1 seed couldn’t maintain his near-perfect record of points won on first serve, he faced no break points and dismissed Stepanek in just under an hour, 6-3, 6-2.

More photos from the Quarterfinals in Basel