Top seed Andy Roddick blasted 13 aces and lost only four points on his serve to subdue Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan 7-6, 6-2 on Saturday to book a spot in the final of the Washington Classic.
Roddick will play unseeded James Blake, who needed just 68 minutes to upset 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3, in the first all-American final since 1990.
"I don't want to get too high-and-mighty about my serve because I still have one match to go," said Roddick. "But I am feeling good about it this week."
The 13th-seeded Paradorn fought gamely in the opening set, battling to win each of his service games but was never able to deal with Roddick's booming serves.
Roddick got 73 percent of his first serves in for the match and had no double faults. He lost only two service points in the opening set and one in the tiebreak -- on a net cord.
The fifth-ranked Roddick captured the tiebreak 7-4, winning the final two points on Paradorn serve.
"His serve is tough to read," said the Thai. "He would look like was going to slam it [down the middle] but then he would hit it out wide.
"Those serves are tough to get because when the ball lands, it just bounces away. The serve is his big weapon. And he was serving well today."
EARLY BREAK
After losing the tiebreak, the 26-year-old Paradorn played a loose service game to open the second set and allowed Roddick to score an early break.
"I felt the break took a little of the wind out of his sails," said Roddick. "I was in control of the match at that point."
Roddick's potent serving continued in the second set, allowing Paradorn only one point the entire frame. He broke Paradorn in the fifth game of the set to take a 4-1 lead and served out the match.
Blake, 25, the 2001 Washington champion, broke Berdych's serve just once in each set but it was enough because the Czech was unable to do likewise.
"When I saw him earlier in the tournament, his service wasn't a weapon," said the 19-year-old Berdych. "Tonight it was."
Blake advances to his fifth career final but his first since 2003. He endured an injury-plagued 2004 and is crawling back up the rankings, though he currently stands at 101.
"There will be no pressure playing against Andy," said Blake. "He's one of the best players in the world. I'm just going to go out there and have some fun."
