Del Potro Cruises Past Roddick In L.a. Final
posted 8:12 am Mon August 11, 2008 -
(Sports Network) - Third-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro received little resistance from top-seed Andy Roddick, taking the title in impressive 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) fashion at the $475,000 Countrywide Classic tennis event.
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Del Potro, who extended his winning streak to 14 matches, needed just 34 minutes to get by Roddick in the first set, breaking the American three times en route to a 6-1 thrashing on the hardcourts at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
"The first plan was trying to return his serve," Del Potro said. "He started to serve very slowly and I did very good returns. I broke very early in the first set. After that I start to play my game. I didn't give him many chances."

Roddick, looking to capture his third ATP title of the season, found his serve in the second set to force a tiebreak, but the 19-year-old Argentine proved too much.
"I just didn't return well enough to give myself a shot in the second set," Roddick said. "Every time I get into the game, I miss a couple of returns, I missed a couple of balls."
Each player held serve in the tiebreak until Del Potro, who won back-to-back titles in Stuttgart and Kitzbuhel in his previous two events, took a 4-2 lead. Two quick forehand winners gave Del Potro four championship points, but he needed just one as Roddick hit one long to finish off the match.
"I made it through the week," Roddick said. "I made a final out of nowhere. I haven't even really been playing much. That's a good sign that I was able to get this much better during the week. Hopefully I can continue along that pace. It was positive overall."
Del Potro became the first Argentine to win a hard court title in North America since Guillermo Canas captured Toronto in 2002. He collected $79,000 for his victory, while Roddick took home $44,000.
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