Federer, Roddick One Match from Three-Peat ATP Titles

Posted on June 12, 2005

Roddick One Match from 3 in a Row at ATP Queens

No. 2 seed Andy Roddick advanced to his third consecutive ATP Queen's Club final Saturday, outlasting No. 4-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

With a win in the final Roddick would match the accomplishments of fellow former No. 1s John McEnroe and Lleyton Hewitt who won three consecutive at Queen's.

"That would be huge," Roddick said. "I came in here a couple of years ago not ever having played well on grass. To be going for a third, that's great."

Roddick serve and return game faltered in the second set against the Czech, but the American broke for 3-1 in the third to begin his end run. In the third it seemed each player was trying to out-jerk the other, with Stepanek going through his general routine of complaining and gesturing, and Roddick at one point seeming to imitate the Czech's skipping sprint at the changeover. Stepanek also exchanged words with Greg Rusedski earlier in the tournament, but for Roddick it was all part of attempting to pump himself up after a lackluster second set.

"I played some of my best tennis at the end," Roddick said. "In the third set, I felt I returned a lot, lot better."

In the final Roddick will face the giant giant-killer Ivo Karlovic, who earlier took out No. 1 seed Lleyton Hewitt, and Saturday dismissed No. 6 seed Thomas Johansson 6-4, 7-6(7).

It will be the first meeting between Roddick, the biggest server on tour, and Karlovic, the biggest man on tour at 6-foot-10, whose delivery is equally devastating.

"It probably would be pretty boring to watch," said Roddick, going up against an opponent averaging almost 16 aces per match. "It's going to be a lot of serving, and then there are going to be a couple of moments here and there that are going to be tense."

For Karlovic it is the opportunity to break through for his first ATP title.

"I'm very excited because it's my first final of the ATP tournament, so I am looking forward to tomorrow's match," Karlovic said. "Roddick plays unbelievable on the grass and he serves excellent. So it will be a typical match. I am looking forward to it."

The doubles final will be (2) Bryan/Bryan (d. (5)Aspelin/Perry from a set down in the semis) versus the winner of (1) Bjorkman/Mirnyi vs. (6)Cermak/Friedl, with the top seeds leading 5-3 Saturday when play was suspended due to darkness.

Safin, Federer Square Off in ATP Halle Final

The ATP stop in Halle lined up a dream final Saturday when world No. 1 Roger Federer and one of the few players to beat him this year, the explosive Russian Marat Safin, advanced to the Sunday final.

Federer sent the homecountry crowd home disappointed with a 6-4, 7-6(8) win over No. 7 seed Tommy Haas, ending the German's quest for his first career grasscourt title.

"It just shows again how calm he stays and it's very motivating as well to see how he does that," Haas said. "He served tremendously today, always finding the line when he needed to and didn't give me many chances to break him."

Federer is now one match away from a third consecutive Halle title.

"I am very, very satisfied," said Federer, who never faced a break point in the contest. "I like the grass surface very much and motivation is very easy for me." 

In the final the Swiss will square off against the No. 2 seed Safin, who after a year of explaining his disdain for Wimbledon and grasscourt tennis, finds himself in his first career grasscourt final after a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over No. 4 seed Guillermo Canas.

Federer has won six of his eight career meetings with Safin, with the Russian winning their last encounter at this year's Australian Open.

"I am very surprised to do that well on grass because it isn't really suited for my game," said Safin, who is also struggling with a knee injury. "I used to have problems because I am so tall and everything is so slippery but I have improved my movements. You need to play with confidence and I have gained a lot this week."

In the doubles semifinals the unseeded Swiss team of Yves Allegro and Federer defeated (1) Mahesh Bhupathi/Todd Woodbridge when Bhupathi retired with a lower back injury after losing the first set, and will face Safin and Thomas Johansson in the final.

Sharapova One Match from Defending WTA Birmingham Title

Defending champ and top seed Maria Sharapova advanced to the final Saturday at the WTA stop in Birmingham, defeating last year's runner-up and No. 5 seed Tatiana Golovin 7-5, 6-1.

Sharapova stumbled leading 5-2 in the first, allowing the French teen to even the match at 5-5 before racing to eight of the last nine games.

"I think it was pretty well done today," said Sharapova, still shaking off a cold and a thigh strain. "I was pretty relaxed from the start. I still don't feel 100 percent physically, but at least tennis-wise I played much better."

Golovin was also among the walking wounded, twisting an ankle and suffering an infection from a cut on her foot.

"(The foot bandage) held up pretty well in the first set, but at the start of the second set I slipped and the bandages fell off," Golovin said. "It was a pretty good first set that could have gone either way, and that gives me hope for Wimbledon."

In the final the Russian products-model will face No. 3 seed Jelena Jankovic, who in her semifinal ran through unseeded American Laura Granville 6-2, 6-2 in under an hour.

"I started the match well and broke in the first game which gave me an advantage throughout the match," Jankovic said. "I didn't expect to be in the final as I didn't know how to play on grass very well before this week."

Sharapova leads the head-to-head with Jankovic 2-0.

"I will just go out and play my game," said the baseline-bashing Sharapova, throwing tactics to the wind. "Our first match went to three sets at the US Open, so I can't expect an easy match."

The doubles final will be the unseeded Greek/American duo of Daniilidou/Russell (d. (1) Black/Huber in the semis) vs. (2) Hantuchova/Sugiyama (d. Aussies (4) Stewart/Stosur, with Stewart retiring with a thigh sprain trailing 4-6, 4-3).

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