Final Preview: Roddick Aiming for Title No. 3

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By Barry Newcombe

Ivo Karlovic v Andy Roddick: First Meeting
In the previous 26 Stella Artois championships only two players, John McEnroe and Lleyton Hewitt, have won the title for three years in succession. Andy Roddick intends to join that elite group in today's final. Ivo Karlovic intends to stop him.

Roddick now holds a 30-7 record for the year and in terms of the Stella Artois has to look all the way back to the first round in 2001 when he was last beaten at Queen's Club(by the Russian Mikhail Youzhny). Karlovic, 26, is making his first appearance in a final in 48 ATP tour level events.

Roddick has to be counted in the top three in the world on grass after winning here twice and making the last four and then the final at Wimbledon in the past two years. And now he has the chance to stand alongside McEnroe and Hewitt at the Stella Artois--"That would be huge, "he says. "I came in here a couple of years ago not ever having played that well on grass. To be going for a third, that's great. To join names like that (McEnroe and Hewitt) is pretty cool, too. "

Karlovic first played singles on grass in this tournament in 2002. In three years he won three matches. This time came the breakthrough. "I like grass, "he says, "because it suits my game. With my serve I always have an advantage and it's easier than rallying from the baseline."

Apart from standing 6ft 10ins and wearing size 14 shoes, which makes him the tallest player ever to be ranked in the top 100, Karlovic gained instant fame when he defeated the defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in the first round at Wimbledon in 2003.

He had come through the qualifying tournament, with a heavy beard, and was thus dubbed the bearded giant. But he was clean shaven by the time he faced Hewitt and overcame the considerable challenge the champion presented. Only a couple of weeks earlier Karlovic had been fined around £2000 for breaking the rules at Surbiton. His coach had to persuade him to try to qualify for the Stella Artois. He did. So that was a big turning point as well.

Karlovic, like that great favourite Goran Ivanisevic, is a Croatian and if they run into each other before the final Karlovic might seek a little guidance on what lies ahead in the final. Because few know the demands as well as Goran.

Certainly Karlovic faces an uphill struggle. But he has not lost a tie break here(he has played five)and if he is classed as an underdog he knows how to bite. "It's going to be a lot of serving, "says Roddick, "and then there's going to be a couple of moments here and there that are going to be extremely tense. You have to be there and stay the course and be mentally ready if you do get a chance and try to take it."

Roddick knows the territory at the Stella Artois extremely well. Victory today would give him another focal point in his career and, unquestionably, he is well equipped to win. The fascination will be in seeing whether Karlovic and his unique combination of physique and skills worry him.

Verdict: Roddick to lift the Stella Artois trophy for the third time

Prize money:
Champion: £55,517
Runner-up: £32,689

John McEnroe v Goran Ivanisevic
What an appetising final day extra for the Stella Artois championships with two former Wimbledon champions playing in a special challenge match--and in their first meeting on grass.

McEnroe proved to be one of the anchor players of the Stella Artois when he was champion in the first three years of the tournament from 1979 and winner for a fourth time in 1984.

Ivanisevic was runner-up in the 1997 championships when, as third seed, he was beaten by the Australian Mark Philippoussis in the final.

Ivanisevic has taken the place of Boris Becker today. Becker intended to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his first win here as a 17-year-old buthas had to withdraw because he has not recovered fully from surgery on his left knee undertaken last month.

The record between McEnroe and Ivanisevic is firmly in favour of Ivanisevicwho leads 4-2. McEnroe won their first match in the final Basle in 1990, winning in five sets, but Ivanisevic won their next three matches in Stockholm, New Haven, and Paris. Their next two clashes were in 1992 with McEnroe winning at Key Biscayne and finally Ivanisevic winning in the Grand Slam Cup in Munich.

McEnroe won Wimbledon three times and Ivanisevic, playing in his fourth final, became champion in 2001.

Verdict: McEnroe looking to restore the balance.

Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi or Frantisek Cermak and Leos Friedl v Bob and Mike Bryan
The Stella Artois doubles final contains one of the best pairs in the world,the Bryan twins,who are defending the title they won last year as top seeds.

This was one of seven titles they gained in 2004 after which they were named doubles team of the year by the International Tennis Federation.

Both of the semi-final pairings were in action late into the evening yesterday--with failing light and a cool atmosphere adding to the demands of trying to win through. The Bryans came from match points down against Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry before winning in three sets while Bjorkman and Mirnyi were ahead 5-3 in the first set against Frantisek Cermak and Leos Friedl at 7.35 p.m. when a light drizzle halted play. They continue at noon today.

Prize money:
Champions: £18,620
Runners-up: £11,000

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