Andy Roddick hit 19 aces at up to 135 mph and beat Jonas Bjorkman 7-5, 7-6 (0) Friday to reach the semifinals at the Paris Masters.

Roddick, who will move up to No. 1 in the rankings for the first time next week, won the match's eighth game thanks to four aces.

"I was just happy to go out and get a win," the U.S. Open champion said, calling his new ranking "a nice stat, but it would be even nicer if it was at the end of the year."

The year-end No. 1 ranking will be decided at the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston on Nov. 8-16, when the world's top eight players square off.

Roddick's semifinal opponent is Tim Henman, who upset Wimbledon champion Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 6-1.

The other semifinal will be between 14th-seeded Jiri Novak and Andrei Pavel. Novak beat Hicham Arazi 6-2, 6-1, while Pavel knocked off fifth-seeded Rainer Schuettler 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

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