San Jose, California:
Second-seeded Fernando Verdasco rallied to beat top-seeded Andy Roddick 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday in the SAP Open for his fourth career title.
Verdasco had lost 15 straight matches against top-10 players before breaking through against seventh-ranked Roddick. Verdasco became the first Spaniard to win a title in the Bay Area since Manuel Santana did it in 1964 in Berkeley.
This matchup lacked the high level of play and intensity of the last final between the top seeds in this tournament back in 2002, when top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt beat Andre Agassi 4-6, 7-6, 7-6. But there were a few tense moments in the final set when both players were dominating their serves.
The servers lost only two points in the first five games of the final set with Roddick taking a 3-2 lead. Verdasco earned the only break point of the final set with a backhand cross-court winner at 30-all in the ninth game. Roddick then hit a forehand volley into the top of the net on the following point, giving Verdasco a 5-4 lead.
Verdasco lost the first two points on his service game, before winning the final four. His 141 mph ace made it 30-all and Roddick followed by hitting a forehand long off a 93 mph second serve. Verdasco then closed it out his 15th ace.
Verdasco had lost seven consecutive matches to Roddick. His only previous wins came when Roddick retired in a 2005 match and when Roddick overruled a linesman on what would have been his match point only to see Verdasco rally for the three-set win in Rome.
After breaking Verdasco's serve twice to win the opening set, Roddick seemed in control of the match. But Verdasco broke through for his first break in the third game of the second set to take a 2-1 lead. He hit winners on the first two points, then was the beneficiary of a fortunate net-cord winner to earn three break-point chances, leading Roddick to throw his racket at the net.
Roddick erased one break opportunity before hitting a backhand wide to lose the game. He whacked a ball into the second deck, earning a code violation warning from the umpire.
The frustration only grew later in the set. Roddick blew four break-point chances in the following game, then took out his anger on the officials in the sixth game.
Roddick was upset at a ball that he thought should have been called out and yelled at the umpire, "You can't see if the ball is an inch out! ... It's not possible!"
After Verdasco held in that game for a 4-2 lead, Roddick screamed into his towel, "Make them all machines! All of them! Automated scorekeeper." Roddick held his tongue the rest of the match, often muttering to himself after his mistakes.
Roddick had won in his three previous trips to the final of this tournament but was unable to pull off his fourth despite having his swimsuit model wife, Brooklyn Decker, watching courtside on Valentine's Day.
In the doubles final, Americans Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey beat Benjamin Becker and Leonardo Mayer 7-6 (3), 7-5.