British teenager Andrew Murray pulled off the biggest win of his career when he upset top seed Andy Roddick 7-5, 7-5 to reach the SAP Open final on Saturday.
The 18-year-old Scot dominated the world number three with an aggressive all-round performance and will next face Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who beat American Vince Spadea 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final.
"I was almost a little sick because of nerves but in the end I came though," Murray, the world number 60, told reporters after his first victory over a player ranked in the top 10.
"That's was definitely my biggest win. Beating Roddick in his home country is like a dream come true."
Roddick came out roaring, bludgeoning Murray with his famed serve and gigantic forehand.
But Murray fought off two break points in the sixth game to level at 3-3 and began to read Roddick's serve, dominating the backhand rallies and frequently stretching the American.
"He served real well and that got him out of trouble a lot," Roddick said. "He returned well. I hit a bomb at my spot and he'd block it back and I'd be back to neutral again."
Murray finally broke Roddick to lead 6-5 when the American made a forehand error and won the set with a gorgeous forehand crosscourt winner.
Brimming with confidence, Murray broke Roddick to lead 3-2 in the second set when he whipped a ball in between Roddick's feet as the American charged the net.
Roddick broke back to level when Murray missed a forehand and fought off three break points to lead 5-4.
Murray held serve and then struck a glorious passing shot on the way to another break.
COURAGEOUS VOLLEY
A nervous Murray doubled faulted on his first match point at 6-5 and fought off a break point with a courageous volley before Roddick put a forehand long to hand the Briton victory.
"I was a little nervous, but I have a little more experience against the best players now," said Murray, who struck 25 winners to only 14 for Roddick.
"I know when they start to come back on me that the worst way to play is defensively. Today I played more aggressively and it paid off."
Murray became the youngest finalist in San Jose since Michael Chang in 1988. It will be his first final since October when he lost to world number one Roger Federer in Bangkok.
"I'm looking forward to playing Hewitt," Murray said. "Now that I've won against a top ranked player it gives me that extra bit of confidence that I can do it."
Former champion Hewitt played aggressively from the start against Spadea, not allowing the American to get too far inside the baseline and dominating with his big groundstrokes.
Playing his first tournament since losing in the Australian Open second round, the third seed hit 25 winners and did not lose his serve in the match.
"I felt like I played pretty solid," Hewitt said. "I put pressure on nearly all of his service games. I was trying to dictate as much as possible and get him on the defensive."
Hewitt, a former world number one, has not won a title since a tournament in Sydney 13 months ago.
John McEnroe's improbable run to his first doubles title since 1994 continued when the 47-year-old American and Jonas Bjorkman defeated fourth seeds Robert Lindstedt and Jaroslav Levinsky 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 in the semi-finals.
They will face Paul Goldstein and Jim Thomas in the final.
