Roddick sweeps past Blake

2005-08-08 08:41

Washington - Top-seeded Andy Roddick served 18 aces and defeated fellow American James Blake 7-5 6-3 to win the Legg Mason Tennis Classic championship on Sunday for a second time.

Roddick, who also won in Washington in 2001, took advantage of costly errors by Blake in the clinching game of the first set, then rode the momentum to his fourth title of the year.

Roddick, who came to the Legg Mason event after losing in the quarter-finals to Ginepri at Indianapolis then withdrawing because of a sore knee from the Los Angeles tournament won by Agassi, wasn't concerned about needing to win the tournament.

"I didn't feel like it was a necessity because I had won tournaments earlier this year," Roddick said, "but I felt it was a necessity to play well."

Blake, the 2002 champion, won three straight games to tie the first set at 4-4. That included a break of serve to get within 4-3 - the only time Roddick lost his serve all week, ending a 56-game holding streak.

"I wasn't upset because I didn't think I played a bad game," Roddick said. "I just tried to refocus."

That he did, responding to take a 6-5 lead behind his powerful service game, then clinching the set when Blake hit a volley wide right, then sent a shot long.

"He was definitely making me earn my points," Roddick said.

In the second set, Roddick broke serve to take a 5-3 advantage, then recorded three of his 18 aces to take the title.

The loss ended a six-match winning streak for Blake, who appears to have regained his form just in time for the US Open, set to begin on August 29.

- AP