Impressive Nadal too strong for Roddick Posted on June 14th
(CNN) — Top seed Rafael Nadal is on the verge of winning his first-ever grass-court title after an impressive 7-5 6-4 victory over defending champion Andy Roddick in the semifinals of the Artois Championships at Queen’s Club.
Nadal is on the verge of claiming his first-ever grass-court title after seeing off holder Andy Roddick at Queen’s.
Roddick had triumphed at Queen’s in four of the last five years and was seeking a record fifth title, but was no match for the French Open champion on center court.
One break of serve in each set was enough to give Nadal an 87th-minute win and the Spaniard will now face second seed Novak Djokovic — who crushed Argentine David Nalbandian 6-1 6-0 — in Sunday’s final.
“It was a very important match for me against the best player at Queen’s, a four-time winner and defending champion,” said Nadal, who won his fourth French Open title in a row at Roland Garros just six days ago.
“I’m very happy to be in the final, it’s very important for me to start the grass-court season like this and to beat a specialist like Andy.
“I thought Andy was the favorite today, on grass he is a very, very good player with an amazing serve but I played very, very well.”
Roddick saved three break points in the third game of the opening set but the former U.S. Open champion was powerless to stop a superb forehand winner down the line which gave Nadal the break in the 11th game, and the Spaniard served out after saving four break points to take the set 7-5.
Roddick again found himself facing three break points in the fifth game of the second set but looked like digging himself out of trouble.
The 25-year-old American saved the first two with ease but then shanked an easy forehand into the stands to gift Nadal the break and a 3-2 lead.
This time Nadal did not need to save any break points as he served out the rest of the set to claim a memorable win over a fellow two-time Wimbledon finalist.
“He played very well, there’s no question,” Roddick said. “He is just so match sharp right now. He is almost in cruise control, I think, from just playing so many matches.”
Sunday’s final will see a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon semifinal, which Nadal won, after world number three Djokovic completely outclassed an out-of-sorts Nalbandian.
Djokovic broke the Argentine’s serve three times to storm through the opening set — and repeated the feat in the second set to clinch his place in just 47 minutes.
“I don’t know who was on the court today,” said the Australian Open champion, who is also seeking his first-ever title on grass. “David is a great player on grass but today he was serving pretty weak and I used my momentum to beat him.”
Looking ahead to the final, Djokovic added: “I played him once before on grass, at Wimbledon last year, when I had to stop in the third set due to injury. However, this year I feel much better and stronger and I am playing with a lot of confidence.”
