Roddick destroys Murray's dream

By John Mehaffey

LONDON (Reuters) - American Andy Roddick ended Andy Murray's dream of becoming the first British man to play in a Wimbledon final since 1938 by winning their semi-final 6-4 4-6 7-6 7-6 on Friday.

Sixth seed Roddick, a former world number one and the 2003 U.S. Open champion, served magnificently and matched Murray's vaunted ground strokes after breaking the third-seeded Briton in the final game of the first set.

Murray reacted by breaking at the start of the second set and held serve to level the contest. However, he failed to take advantage of three break points in the first game of the third and a set point in the tiebreak, allowing the American to take a two-sets-to-one lead.

Roddick recorded the fastest serve of the tournament, 230 kph in the first set, and landed 75 percent of his first serves compared to Murray's 52 percent.

"I had to play my best tennis today," the 26-year-old said moments after walking off court. "Most people hadn't given me a chance, to be fair he had all the pressure on him and I could come out swinging."

Roddick's reward for reaching the final is a date with five-times champion Roger Federer. But that is likely to be a mammoth task since the Swiss holds a 18-2 record over the American and has beaten the sixth seed in all three of their previous meetings at Wimbledon -- in one semi-final and two finals.

Murray paid tribute to Roddick's service game and the support of the Centre Court crowd on another hot, sunny day.

"I hope they will give me the same support next year," he told a news conference.