Ljubicic drops Nadal to book final vs. Roddick

Ljubicic admitted he was nervous to start the third, but there was no sign of it by the time he took a 2-1 lead in the tiebreaker with a 222 kilometers per hour (138 mph) ace.

A backhand winner put him 3-1 up, and three Nadal miscues saw the Spaniard in a 6-1 hole that Ljubicic gave him no chance to climb out of.

Ljubicic had looked sluggish as he surrendered breaks in the first and last games of the opening set and said he struggled with the unexpected wind.

“I just felt like if I find the rhythm of the return then I can have the match, and that's exactly what happened.”

After saving four break points in the sixth game of the second set, Ljubicic seemed energized, and he got the break he needed to extend the match when Nadal double-faulted on break point in the ninth game.

Roddick and Soderling both fought frustration as momentum shifted in their battle.

Roddick broke his racquet on the ground after dropping his serve in the eighth game of the second set, leaving Soderling to serve for the set at 5-3. The Swede made the most of it with a love game, then the two traded breaks early in the third before Roddick earned the decisive break for a 4-2 lead that he never relinquished.

Roddick said he was conscious of Soderling's pressure on his serve, but he was able to apply the same to the Swede.

“I knew I was returning real well, so I thought this might be the rare occasion where that would be the thing that won it for me,” Roddick said.

Even after he won the second set, Soderling said he didn't feel he was playing great.

“He played a little bit better than me,” Soderling said. “I think he served a little bit better, and then I made a few more unforced errors. That's about it.”

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