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LONDON, June 13: Andy Roddick retained his Stella Artois title on Sunday with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Sebastien Grosjean - a repeat of last year's final. The top seed's triumph in 83 minutes gave him a 14th career title and his second on grass.
Roddick collects 93,780 euros for his efforts at London's Queen's Club. On Saturday, Roddick won an explosive showdown with three-time former winner Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 6-3 to hurtle into the final.
Roddick twice equalled his own service record, set during Friday's quarterfinals, with 153-mph (246.2-kph) deliveries as he fired his 13th and 15th aces of the match past Hewitt in the second set.
Australian Hewitt, who had won all three of the duo's previous three meetings, should have captured the first set as he attempted to serve for it at 5-4, having broken Roddick in the fifth game.
However, he failed to hang on to the advantage and let a set point slip from his grasp in the tiebreak. Roddick kept up the pressure from the baseline and bagged the breaker 9-7 after forcing his opponent to miscue a service return.
FEDERER TRIUMPHS
HALLE: World number one and defending champion Roger Federer crushed sixth-seeded American Mardy Fish 6-0, 6-3 in the final of the Halle Open on Sunday. Fish never got into the match as the Wimbledon and Australian Open champion broke him three times in the first set and once in the second to extend his winning streak on grass to 17 matches.
The Swiss wowed the spectators with a string of thumping passing shots, emphatic volleys and delicate drop shots, sending a warning to rivals hoping to take his Wimbledon crown when the grass court Grand Slam begins on June 21.
SHARAPOVA WINS
BIRMINGHAM: Maria Sharapova warmed up for Wimbledon by capturing her third career title, defeating France's Tatiana Golovin 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 at Edgbaston. The two teenagers, who have a combined age of just over 33, battled for an hour and 44 minutes before third-seed Sharapova emerged victorious to collect her first title on grass.
The 17-year-old Sharapova won her first two titles in Tokyo and Quebec City last year. Golovin, 16, was competing in her first WTA Tour final. -Reuters
