 Roddick was pushed hard by fellow American Isner in the semi-final |
Top seed Andy Roddick will face second seed and defending champion Juan Martin Del Potro in the final of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington DC. Roddick battled back to see off fellow American John Isner 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 7-5 after Del Potro had earlier beaten Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (7-2) 6-3. "It will be tough," Roddick said of Sunday's final against Del Potro. "You know what you're going to get from him. He plays at a high level every day. That's why he's six in the world." Del Potro, 20, fired 10 aces on his way to defeating fourth seed Gonzalez for the first time in four meetings with the Chilean world number 11. The Argentine won the last four points of the tie-break to take the first set before cruising through the second.  | John made me play my best tennis of the tournament tonight |
He broke in the second and fourth games of the second set on his way to a 5-0 lead. Despite allowing Gonzalez back in when he was broken in game seven, Del Potro made the most of his next chance to serve for the match, ending it when Gonzalez netted a backhand. Del Potro is bidding to become the first back-to-back Washington winner since Andre Agassi in 1999. Roddick, bidding for his fourth Washington title, made the final despite seeing 20 aces fly past him form the 6ft 9in Isner. | 606: DEBATE |
After beating the similarly tall Ivo Karlovic in the previous round, Roddick was at least well prepared for the experience and crucially did not lose his own serve. Roddick broke Isner in the first and seventh games of the second set and, serving at 5-5 in the third, Isner played several loose points to surrender a decisive final break. "I started feeling a little bit tired in that second set," said Isner. "Then I caught my second wind in the third. It was kind of a battle but eventually he got to me." Roddick added: "John made me play my best tennis of the tournament tonight. Anything less than that probably wasn't going to get it done."
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