Roddick claims Queen's hat-trick
Roddick warmed up for Wimbledon with a third Queen's title
American Andy Roddick raced to his third consecutive Queen's
title with a solid 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-4) win over surprise
finalist Ivo Karlovic. Karlovic shook off a nervous start to
save three break-points in the second game of the opener but
it was Roddick who claimed the ensuing tie-break.
A fast and furious second set rolled to another inevitable
tie-break with neither player claiming a break-point.
The American stepped up a gear to seal the breaker and the
title in style.
"We knew it would be a tight match," Roddick told BBC Sport.
"Just a couple of points here and there.
"Karlovic's serve is probably the biggest weapon in tennis
and it was not fun at times.
"But I've had a great week and I love playing here."
As predicted, the match was dominated by both player's
thunderous serves - Roddick ended the encounter with 10 aces
and Karlovic 16.
Nonetheless, Roddick and Karlovic warmed up for Wimbledon in
two weeks time by demonstrating plenty of ability at the net
too.
Karlovic could make the last 16 at Wimbledon and perhaps even
the quarter-finals Roddick grabbed a mini-break in the first-set
breaker, placing the ball down the line.
An unlucky bounce off the net for Roddick took the scores back
to 6-6 before Karlovic over-hit his forehand return to hand the
American the tie-break and the set.
The tempo of the match increased at 3-3 with both players chasing
down the ball and engaging in some longer rallies.
But neither could find a chink in their opponent's armour until
the predictable tie-break.
Roddick grabbed a mini-break straight away with a backhand winner
that clipped the outside of the line.
A pair of aces consolidated the American's lead and though Karlovic
clawed back four points, it was Roddick who served out the breaker
to seal his title defence.
The 22-year-old's triumph saw him join John McEnroe and Lleyton
Hewitt as the only players to win a hat-trick of Queen's titles.
Roddick now goes to Wimbledon expected to at least match his
runner's-up performance of 2004.
Meanwhile, Karlovic has raised his stock as he looks to better
last year's fourth-round performance at the All England Club.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/4085588.stm
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http://0rz.net/5e0p9 Marion Raven (M2M)
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