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| June 12, 2005 | Sunday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 4, 1426 |
Roddick closer to Queen’s treble
LONDON, June 11: Andy Roddick remained on course for a third successive Stella Artois title by beating Radek Stepanek 6-3 2-6 6-2 in the semi-finals of the grasscourt event on Saturday.
The American will face towering Ivo Karlovic in Sunday’s final after the Croatian, who had lost in the first round of his last eight tournaments, put out former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson 6-4 7-6.
Roddick is bidding to join John McEnroe and Lleyton Hewitt as the only players to win three titles in a row at the Wimbledon warm-up event.
World number four Roddick, Wimbledon runner-up last year, said he was playing by instinct.
Karlovic, at 6ft 10ins the tallest player in professional tennis, will be appearing in his first ATP Tour final after beating top seed Hewitt in the quarter-finals and Swede Johansson in the semis.
The Croat’s massive serve proved the difference between the two players on an overcast day at Queen’s Club.
A single break in the first set was sufficient for Karlovic to take it 6-4 and the pair were inseparable in the second.
Karlovic earned a match point at 6-4 in the tiebreak but let a Johansson pass go by and it landed on the baseline.
He fought off a set point with a forehand volley and earned another match point with a thumping second serve.
This time he converted when Johansson hit a forehand into the net.
Roddick is expecting a tough time on Sunday.
Second seed Safin, who has been complaining of a troublesome left knee, served powerfully and played a string of commanding shots to overcome the nimble Canas.
The Russian will play world number one Roger Federer in Sunday’s final after the Swiss Wimbledon champion beat Germany’s Tommy Haas 6-4, 7-6.
Safin defeated Federer in their last match, a five-set thriller in the Australian Open semifinals.
BIRMINGHAM (England): Results from the Edgbaston International Women’s Singles Semifinal matches on Saturday:
Maria Sharapova (Russia) bt Tatiana Golovin (France) 7-5 6-1; Jelena Jankovic (Serbia and Montenegro) bt Laura Granville (United States) 6-2 6-2.—Agencies
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