Roddick reaches Brisbane final

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:59

The American defeated Thomas Berdych 1-6 6-3 6-4 and will face defending champion Radek Stepanek after the Czech veteran brushed past Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2 6-1 in the other semi-final.

Roddick looked out of sorts early when he was broken for the first time in the tournament, ending a run of 30 straight service game holds.

The opening break was backed up with a second one and Berdych suddenly looked the stronger of the two, going up 5-0. After Berdych took the opening set in 34 minutes it seemed to spur Roddick on as he bounced back immediately in the second.

Suddenly Berdych’s returns were not finding the line and the world number seven ramped up his service games to take an early 3-0 lead, before eventually wrapping up the set in 47 minutes.

The deciding set went with serve before Roddick pounced on a weak Berdych service game to take a 5-4 lead. The American duly served out the set and the match to move into the final.

In the other semi, 31-year-old Stepanek showed little mercy towards Monfils as the Frenchman seemed distracted by a shoulder injury.

The match looked to be shaping as a tight one early with the first set poised at 2-2, but from there Stepanek took complete control, winning 10 of the last 11 games to move into the final in just under an hour.

The former world number eight held little sympathy for Monfils’ injury.

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