Blake Beats Roddick to Gain Hewitt Match-Up at Queens

Blake recorded his first-ever win over Roddick Saturday in the semifinals at Queen's in seven attempts, defeating the three-time defending champion 7-5, 6-4.

The No. 5-seeded Blake sputtered serving for the first set at 5-4, committing a string of nervous unforced errors to drop serve at love before immediately breaking Roddick in the next game and serving it out at 7-5. Serving at 5-4 in the second it appeared Blake might go for the throat-clutcher again, serving up a double fault on his first match point, but on the next point punctuating a rally with a backhand winner down the line to record the historic win.

Blake is finally making headway against the top players on tour, earlier this year beating Lleyton Hewitt for the first time in the final of The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas.

In the final Blake will face the No. 8-seeded Hewitt, who outlasted unseeded Brit Tim Henman who had a mental meltdown in the third set of a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 loss.

Leading by a break at 2-1 in the third, Henman was robbed at game point when a subsequent replay showed the ball had caught the back of the line. Henman's arguing and audible obscenity failed to change the chair umpire's mind, and the upset Brit promptly dropped the next five games to hand Hewitt the match.

Blake had lost his first six meetings against the former Wimbledon champ Hewitt before breaking through in the Las Vegas final, with this their first meeting on grass.