Events / Editor / 16 June 2007 /

Andy Roddick showed his liking for the grass courts of Queen's Club as he eased his way into the final of today's Artois Championship.

And waiting for the second seed is unexpected finalist Nicolas Mahut.
Roddick, winner in 2003, 2004 and 2005, will start favourite to make it title No 4 in west London after beating Dmitry Tursunov 6-4 7-5 yesterday.

The American has shown this week that he is glad to see the back of the clay-court season after a miserable spell on the dirt.
But against seventh seed Tursunov he needed just a break in each set to secure his place in the final.
Mahut, who knocked out top seed Rafael Nadal earlier in the week in the quarter-finals, overcame fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-3, 7-6.
Clement had gone into the semi-finals boosted by wins over Novak Djokovic and Ivo Karlovic but Mahut was too good for him yesterday.

Former Wimbledon junior champion Mahut is now through to his first ATP tour final but it's going to be tough because Roddick now has a 22-2 record at Queen's.

Roddick, who is ranked No 5 in the world, has met Mahut just once and that was in Lyon two years ago. They clashed in the round of the last 16 and Roddick came out on top 7-6 (5) 6-3.

Roddick, 6ft 2in and 24, comes from Omaha in Nebraska but lives in Austin, Texas.

He had a 25/8 win-loss record this year going into the Artois and has won 21 titles since turning pro in 2000.
Mahut also turned pro the same year but the 6ft 3in world No 106 from Angers has yet to win a title.

He came to Queen's with a dismal 6-11 win-loss record but the last few days have seen a transformation.
Last September Mahut was ranked a career best 61 and his surge to today's final will go some way to lifting him up towards that target again.

Mahut, who admires Pete Sampras, Yannick Noah and basketball ace Michael Jordan and supports French football team Paris Saint Germain, still rates his junior Wimbledon win in 2000 as his best achievement to date.

In contrast Roddick has a Major to his name, having won the 2003 US Open. His serve and volley game is suited to grass but former Grand Slam great Jimmy Connors has helped to expand his racket work into an all-court game. He also works with brother John and former ATP trainer Doug Spreen.

Mahut has undoubtedly been the surprise package of the Queen's week but it will rank as a major upset if he can stop Roddick.
Another Artois win for Roddick would be the perfect preparation for Wimbledon, where he was runner-up in 2004 and 2005 but only reached the third round last year, losing to Britain's Andy Murray after falling to fellow American James Blake in the semi-finals at Queen's.
For that reason Roddick is trading at 1.18 with Betfair while Mahut is only 6.4.

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