Roddick: "There won't be any surprises tomorrow."
Roddick Roars Into Final
Second seed Andy Roddick reached the fourth ATP final of his career with a three-set victory over Xavier Malisse at the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis.
Roddick, who captured three titles in 2001 in Atlanta, Houston and Washington, came through 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3 in just under two hours to book his place in the final against James Blake.
"I had to grind it out," said Roddick. "He served really well in the first set, and he was winning most of the rallies. But I fought hard and got through."
Roddick made his intentions clear from the start, sending down serves of 130 mph-plus in abundance. But after missing a set point at 6-5 in the first set, Roddick held a 4-0 lead with a serve to come in the tie-break before Malisse hit back with some stunning groundstrokes and passing shots to take it 7-5.
The 19-year-old American soon put that disappointment behind him to break Malisse's serve in the first game of the second set, and his serve was never put in serious doubt until he was taken to deuce at 3-4. It was as close as Malisse got to breaking, and after Roddick broke again to close out the set, the semifinal looked to have turned in his favor.
Leaps and bounds
The final set went with serve until an attempted drop shot volley by Malisse at 2-3 fell beyond the service line, a gift Roddick duly accepted before going on to break serve. He then booked his place in the final with a flawless service game, holding to love to the delight of the Memphis crowd.
After the match, a philosophical Malisse said: "It was decided on two or three points. He started serving really well, and I served well in the beginning, but he started to put a lot of pressure on me. I should have put the volley away [at 2-3 in the final set]. I made one mistake and it cost me. But we both played really well today. Someone has to win and today it was Andy. I take my hat off to him."
Looking ahead to the final, Roddick said: "James has improved leaps and bounds over the last few months. He competes really well and it will be a battle. We know each other pretty well, so there won't be any surprises out there."
It will be only the fourth all-American final since 1995 that doesn't include either Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi, but the latest surge in homegrown talent has not come as a surprise to Roddick. "I don't think you need an all-American final to see there's some good American players coming through," he said.
The only disappointment for Roddick came when he and Jan-Michael Gambill lost in the semifinals of the doubles to reigning champions Bob and Mike Bryan.
Roddick, who captured three titles in 2001 in Atlanta, Houston and Washington, came through 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3 in just under two hours to book his place in the final against James Blake.
"I had to grind it out," said Roddick. "He served really well in the first set, and he was winning most of the rallies. But I fought hard and got through."
Roddick made his intentions clear from the start, sending down serves of 130 mph-plus in abundance. But after missing a set point at 6-5 in the first set, Roddick held a 4-0 lead with a serve to come in the tie-break before Malisse hit back with some stunning groundstrokes and passing shots to take it 7-5.
The 19-year-old American soon put that disappointment behind him to break Malisse's serve in the first game of the second set, and his serve was never put in serious doubt until he was taken to deuce at 3-4. It was as close as Malisse got to breaking, and after Roddick broke again to close out the set, the semifinal looked to have turned in his favor.
Leaps and bounds
The final set went with serve until an attempted drop shot volley by Malisse at 2-3 fell beyond the service line, a gift Roddick duly accepted before going on to break serve. He then booked his place in the final with a flawless service game, holding to love to the delight of the Memphis crowd.
After the match, a philosophical Malisse said: "It was decided on two or three points. He started serving really well, and I served well in the beginning, but he started to put a lot of pressure on me. I should have put the volley away [at 2-3 in the final set]. I made one mistake and it cost me. But we both played really well today. Someone has to win and today it was Andy. I take my hat off to him."
Looking ahead to the final, Roddick said: "James has improved leaps and bounds over the last few months. He competes really well and it will be a battle. We know each other pretty well, so there won't be any surprises out there."
It will be only the fourth all-American final since 1995 that doesn't include either Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi, but the latest surge in homegrown talent has not come as a surprise to Roddick. "I don't think you need an all-American final to see there's some good American players coming through," he said.
The only disappointment for Roddick came when he and Jan-Michael Gambill lost in the semifinals of the doubles to reigning champions Bob and Mike Bryan.
