Roddick out injured, Murray hurries into final

By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) - Andy Roddick's hopes of a fifth Queen's Club title ended painfully on Saturday when the American limped out midway through the first set of his all-American semi-final against James Blake with a right ankle injury.
Roddick's retirement threw his Wimbledon hopes into disarray, with that tournament only nine days away, and handed Blake a final showdown with British top seed Andy Murray.
The world number three stood one match away from his first grasscourt title after hustling past Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2 6-4.
Second seed Roddick had high hopes of facing Murray on Sunday but it all went wrong in the final point of the third game against Blake.
Stranded at the net, Roddick quickly turned around to chase down a Blake lob and hit the ball between his legs.
He even laughed when his effort failed to win him the point but absent-mindedly continued to walk toward the back of the court and sprained his ankle between the raised border of the grass surface and the concrete surround.
The American winced and then opted to test his ankle by applying pressure to it before resuming the contest.
After Blake held for a 4-3 lead, Roddick took a medical time out to have the ankle strapped but he continued to shake his head as he put his shoes back on.
The 26-year-old held his serve in the next game before informing the umpire that he was unable to continue.
MAJOR SETBACK
Roddick had looked to be in good form heading into Wimbledon, which starts on June 22.
"I saw him pull up a little goofy on one shot at the end of the third game. It's a little slippery and I think he went over on it and it's really unfortunate," Blake said courtside.
"The way he's playing he's got a chance to win Wimbledon so... he wouldn't want to endanger that any more."
Murray's only drama was when he bashed his knuckles against his racket to leave a trail of blood streaking down his shorts.
But that did not stop the top seed from outwitting former world number one Ferrero with an assortment of angles, spins and power. Continued...
Source: Reuters