Roddick wins third straight Queen's title
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-13 10:29

Andy Roddick won his third consecutive title at Queen's on Sunday, defeating 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) to join Lleyton Hewitt and John McEnroe as the only players to win this Wimbledon tuneup three straight times.

Andy Roddick of the United States holds up the trophy after his win over Ivo Karlovic of Croatia during the final of the Stella Artois Tennis Championship at Queen's Club in London, Sunday, June 12, 2005. Roddick won the match 6-7 (7), 6-7 (4). [AP]

Roddick reached the Wimbledon final last season and the semifinal two years ago, losing both times to Roger Federer.

On an overcast, breezy day, Roddick recorded his 15th straight victory at Queen's. Karlovic, a Croat who relies on a powerful serve, was playing in his first ATP final and had not dropped a set at Queen's in advancing to the final.

"I absolutely love playing here at the Queen's Club," Roddick said. "It's such a beautiful place and I'm kind of building a history here."

Roddick holds the record for the fastest serve, 155 mph. But he said facing the serve from the tallest player in tennis poses its own problems.

"It's probably the biggest weapon in tennis," Roddick said. "It's really impressive, and you don't really get a feel for it unless you are on the other side. It was not fun at times. I'm just lucky to get through."

Roddick squandered three break points in the second game of the first set, and neither player faced another break chance in the set or match. Roddick won the tiebreaker 9-7, the victory coming on his fifth set point — all in the tiebreaker. In the 41-minute set, Karlovic managed seven aces and Roddick had five.

In the second set, Roddick won the tiebreaker and the match with a service winner. He finished with 10 aces, and Karlovic had 16 in the 80-minute match.

"I think we knew that it was going to be that kind of match with just a couple of points here and there."

Federer, the defending champion at Wimbledon, will be the favorite when the Grand Slam event begins June 20, with Roddick, Hewitt and Marat Safin among the contenders. Federer defeated Safin in three sets to win the Gerry Weber Open, the other major warmup for Wimbledon, in Halle, Germany.

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