Physical fitness is part of the battle in the world of men’s tennis, but it can sometimes feel like an insult to tell a player that he won a match only because of superior stamina. Friday afternoon in Indian Wells, Calif., Andy Roddick made sure that any comparisons with rival Novak Djokovic would be confined to the quality of tennis on display.

Less than two months since an Australian Open quarterfinal in which a severely dehydrated Djokovic retired in the fourth set, Roddick made sure that his tennis did the talking this time around. The seventh-seeded American, using the same court coverage and airtight serving that helped him win Down Under, played an extremely focused match to overwhelm Djokovic, 6-3, 6-2, and advance to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open.

A magnetic field seems to exist between Roddick and Djokovic. These elite players met in each of the past two Grand Slam quarterfinals, and they took their round-of-8 act to this Masters 1000 event in California. After Djokovic won at the 2008 U.S. Open and Roddick then returned the favor, both men had a point to prove. Djokovic–besides having the need to defend a lot of rankings points at an event he won in 2008–hoped to show Roddick that his fitness and his all-around game were back on track. Roddick wanted to show the third-seeded Serb that he didn’t need a deficient Djokovic to advance in a tournament of appreciable significance.

After just 69 drama-free minutes of action, it became clear that Roddick–at least for the moment–has surpassed Djokovic on the tennis scene. On a day when no trainers were called and no medical timeouts were taken, Roddick simply handed down an old-fashioned whipping to tell his opponent that Australia was a telling indicator, and not an aberration.

Roddick might not have been overwhelming in this match, but the soon-to-be-married 26-year-old was certainly solid and impregnable. Using his serve as a set-up piece more than a finisher, Roddick hit 81 percent of his first serves. Despite just 5 aces in the match, Roddick’s first-serve consistency enabled him to dictate points and set up an unerring forehand. Roddick won 77 percent of his service points, including four straight points after Djokovic found a 15-40 opening at 1-all in the second set. Never rattled and confident in his groundies, Roddick played a blended game as a server, and Djokovic couldn’t offer a credible response.

As a receiver of serve, practically nothing changed. Roddick defended well and forced Djokovic to create pace from the baseline. The Serb lacked sting and penetration on his groundies, so whenever Roddick produced an appreciable amount of depth, Djokovic faltered. Outclassed in all aspects of the match, Djokovic lost the final five games of the match, a very disappointing outcome for the man who owned Indian Wells a year ago.

Throughout 2008, Novak Djokovic had eclipsed Andy Roddick on the ATP Tour. Now, however, the winds of change are blowing. A 21-year-old Serb with designs on a world No. 1 ranking should no longer worry about Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. For now, Djokovic has to figure out a way to solve the puzzle posed by Andy Roddick.

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