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By Barry Newcombe

The Championship Final

Andy Roddick (USA) v Nicolas Mahut (France)
Played--Roddick leads 1-0

Andy Roddick faces his second final of the year riding high on an avalanche of statistics in the Artois Championships which point to his winning today's final against the unseeded Frenchman Nicolas Mahut and taking the title for a fourth time. He has lead the field in terms of first serves won and speed of serve and through the tournament has never lacked for confidence and optimism in what he is doing. This time last year Roddick was in a relative trough and it showed. Now he is back where he wants to be: "I feel like if I continue to play that way I have a good shot," he says.

Since last summer Roddick has been working with the former world No 1 Jimmy Connors as his coach and between them they have structured a position where Roddick believes he is well placed for this final and for the challenge of Wimbledon where last year he was a third round loser to Andy Murray. Connors knows enough about the run-in to Wimbledon to become a very useful voice in Roddick's ear over the next few days. But Roddick is the only one charged with doing the business on court and first he will have to work out how to take on Mahut. He says: "From what I've seen he's been going for broke on first and second serves, playing a little bit kamikaze. He's been coming in, any ball he gets he's been taking a swing and charging. He's kind of playing a little bit without a conscience right now."

Mahut is 25, ranks 106th in the world, and lost his only previous match with Roddick in 2005 on an indoor court in Lyon. He is a former junior champion at Wimbledon and it is a curious twist to a week where he beat the fifth seed Ivan Ljubicic and the world No 2 Rafael Nadal on the same day that tomorrow he has to start trying to qualify for Wimbledon. A shade different pressure, perhaps? He is the third French player to make the final here--the others were Sebastien Grosjean and Guy Forget--and the seventh unseeded player to be in the final. The man who hails from the Loire Valley likes grass court tennis. "I really thought it was my best surface," he says. "Last year I lost only in the third round against Federer at Wimbledon and third round at Queen's Club against Tim Henman."

Verdict-Andy Roddick to stay in command

The Doubles Championship

Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor
v Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi
Knowles and Nestor lead 5-4

This is a semi-final between two powerful and successful pairings with French Open champions Knowles and Nestor holding a slight edge as they decide who plays the top seeded American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in the final. Knowles and Nestor played a second round match and then a quarter-final against Tim Henman and Lleyton Hewitt last night and it was after 9pm when they beat Henman and Hewitt 6-1 6-4 in a good humoured atmosphere with trick shots and some fine rallies. Knowles and Nestor won the title in Paris after being beaten in the finals in 1998 and 2002. They plan to split up after Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam title they have not won.

Verdict-Knowles and Nestor into the final where they would face the Bryans who have won the title on these courts three times.

The Artois Championships prize money

Singles Champion - £50, 312
Runner-up - £29, 625
Doubles Champions - £16, 875
Runners-Up - £9, 968

The Junior Championship

Final-Uladzimir Ignatik(Belarus) v Gastio Elias(Portugal)

Top seeded Uladzimir Ignatik, the 16-year-old from Belarus, takes on sixth seed Gastio Elias, also 16, of Portugal to decide the Junior Championship final.