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| August 18, 2003 | Monday | Jumadi-us-Sani 19, 1424 |
Fish sets up final clash with Roddick
CINCINNATI, Aug 17: American Andy Roddick moved to the brink of his third title in four tournaments with a 7-6 6-4 victory over Belarussian Max Mirnyi in the semifinals of the $2.45 million Cincinnati Masters Series on Saturday.
Roddick will face Mardy Fish in final after his friend and former high school colleague ousted eighth-seeded German Rainer Schuettler 7-6 7-6 in their evening match.
Roddick will start as clear favourite in his seventh final of the season despite the surprise form of 21-year-old Fish.
Against Mirnyi, he was thankful for two lucky net cords in the first set tiebreak. But he was nothing short of majestic in the second set as he recorded his 29th win in 31 matches.
Mirnyi’s confidence and serve-and-volley approach had put Roddick under immense pressure in the first set, but the 20-year-old remained firm to force a tiebreak.
However, he found himself 5-1 down and facing the prospect of losing a set for the first time in six matches.
One breathtaking crosscourt pass and solid serving brought him back to 5-4, and that was the beginning of the end for the ‘Beast of Belarus’.
An outrageous net cord left Mirnyi stranded to even things up at 5-5 and, on the next point, another Roddick pass hit the tape, forcing Mirnyi to improvise a volley which he could not control.
Roddick broke in the first game of the second set, saved one break point in the sixth, recovered from a fall in the eighth and served out with the minimum of fuss moments later.— Reuters
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