Roddick falls in semifinals
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- When Andy Roddick tried for an encore, Nikolay Davydenko stole the show.
Seeking a successful follow-up to his breakthrough victory over Roger Federer, Roddick instead lost to Davydenko 7-6 (5), 6-2 Friday night in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open.
Davydenko's opponent in the final Sunday will be No. 2-seeded Rafael Nadal, who beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (6), 6-2.
Roddick was coming off an emotional win 24 hours earlier, when he ended his streak of 11 consecutive losses to Federer. But he was forced into grinding rallies by the No. 4-seeded Davydenko, who chased down shots all over the court and served well, facing only one break point.
Standing 6 feet behind the baseline, the Russian began reading Roddick's booming serves well in the second set and rallied from a break down, winning the final five games.
Davydenko has been playing under a cloud because of an ATP investigation into heavy and odd wagering on an otherwise insignificant match he played in Poland last August. Davydenko says he did nothing wrong, and he has criticized the ATP for not reaching a resolution in the case.
He's the first Russian man to reach the Key Biscayne final.
In the women's final Saturday, Serena Williams seeks her fifth Key Biscayne title and second in a row when she plays No. 4-seeded Jelena Jankovic.
"I've played a great tournament," Williams said. "I'm just happy to be still in it and doing the best I can do. As long as I'm doing the right thing on the court, I feel like I can come out on top, but I just have to make sure I'm doing what's right."
Nadal needed seven set points to close out a 73-minute first set against Berdych, then pulled away. Nadal committed no unforced errors in the second set, won 16 of 17 points on his serve and swept the final 12 points.
Nadal gleefully skipped at the net when he put away a volley to reach match point. He then hit a forehand winner and sank to his knees in jubilation.
"I am playing very well this tournament," Nadal said. "Today was a great match, too."
Nadal, the runner-up to Federer at Key Biscayne in 2005, is pleased to be back in the final but unhappy to still be in the United States. The tournament traditionally was held in mid-March but now stretches into April because of its television contract, and Nadal complained the change condenses the upcoming clay-court season.
"If you see the calendar, that is unbelievable," said Nadal, whose best surface is clay. "It's not fair."
The No. 10-seeded Berdych lost his serve for only the second time in the tournament to fall behind 5-3, but he dug in from there. Nadal had a set point in the ninth game, two more in the 10th and three in the tiebreaker before he closed out the set when Berdych double-faulted for the first time.
Berdych sagged in the 85-degree sunshine. He began to struggle with his dangerous forehand and finished with 34 unforced errors to 11 for Nadal.
"It was like my battery's gone," Berdych said. "If you are not 100 percent with him, then it's really tough to play."