Sports Network: Roddick sends U.S. into Davis Cup final

Andy Roddick rolled to a straight-set victory over Jonas Bjorkman to lift the United States into the Davis Cup final. Roddick notched a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 win to give the Americans an insurmountable 3-1 lead in their best-of-five semifinal tie against Sweden, and James Blake went on to complete the 4-1 triumph with a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Simon Aspelin in the dead rubber.

The United States will host defending champion Russia for the Davis Cup crown. The Russians won both reverse singles rubbers on Sunday to capture a 3-2 semifinal victory over Germany in Moscow.

Bjorkman, who was part of Sweden’s losing doubles team on Saturday, was a replacement for the ailing Thomas Johansson, who won his opening singles match on Friday against Blake.

Roddick, a winner Friday against Joachim Johansson in the opening singles match, dominated the first set Sunday with a pair of breaks. The second set went to a tiebreaker, where Roddick dominated again by winning the first five points to take control.

Bjorkman was unable to break Roddick’s serve on just three opportunities throughout the match and the American gained his third break for a 3-2 lead in the third set. Roddick held from there to close it out in just over two hours.

The Americans will now play in the Davis Cup final for the first time since a loss to Spain three years ago.

“It’s what you work for. I’m so proud to be part of this team, I’m so proud of my teammates, I wouldn’t trade this team for any in the world,” said Roddick on court after the match. “We get another shot at winning the Davis Cup, so I’m really happy right now.”

Despite owning a record 31 Davis Cup titles, the U.S. is currently in its longest-ever championship drought, having not hoisted the chalice since beating Russia in 1995.

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