June 16, 2008	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 11, 1429

LONDON, June 15: Rafael Nadal ended Andy Roddick’s bid for a record fifth title at the ATP tournament at Queen’s Club by charging into the final with a 7-5, 6-4 win on Saturday.

The top-seeded Spaniard, bidding for his first grasscourt title, will face Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

The Serbian blew away David Nalbandian, Wimbledon finalist in 2002, with a 6-1, 6-0 demolition in 47 brutal minutes.

Nadal barged into his first final at the warm-up tournament for Wimbledon by easily overpowering the big-serving American on the slick, green surface.

American Roddick, champion here in four of the past five years, had not dropped his serve all week but came unstuck against an opponent who barely put a foot wrong during the 87-minute contest.

Roddick fired down 14 aces but his power was blunted by the astonishing retrieving skills of Nadal, who extended his winning streak to 16 matches.

He saved three break points in the third game of the opening set against Nadal before his resolve crumbled in the 11th game.

A backhand error handed Nadal break point and the 22-year-old grabbed his chance to sneak ahead with a thundering forehand winner down the line.

After displaying his survival instincts, Nadal wrapped up the set on his first set point, ending an eight-shot rally with a deft volley.

Roddick’s hold on the title was all but over when a mishit forehand ballooned long over the baseline to give Nadal a break for 3-2 in the second set.

Five games later a scorching forehand winner ended Roddick’s challenge, leaving Nadal to celebrate with a trademark fistpump.

Nalbandian, playing at Queen’s Club for the first time this year, would probably have wished he had not bothered to turn up for his semi-final against Djokovic.

The Argentine fourth seed’s day quickly turned into a nightmare as, after holding serve in the opening game of the contest, his game imploded and he failed to win another game.

FEDERER IN FINAL

BERLIN: World No 1 Roger Federer swept into the final of the Halle Open on Saturday with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Nicolas Kiefer of Germany.

Federer extended his winning streak on the surface to 58 games.

The Swiss took full advantage of some inconsistent serving from Kiefer and will play Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in Sunday’s final.

Kohlschreiber upset second seed James Blake of the United States in the second semi to win 6-3, 7-5.

WARSAW OPEN

WARSAW: Top seed Nikolay Davydenko cruised into the final of the Warsaw Open with a 6-2, 6-3 demolition of unseeded Italian Fabio Fognini on Saturday.

The Russian plays defending champion Tommy Robredo in Sunday’s final after the Spaniard, seeded two, overcame Argentina’s Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4.—Reuters