Roddick beats Blake for fourth title of year

Andy Roddick captured his fourth title of the year on Sunday as he fired 18 aces to defeat fellow American James Blake 7-5 6-3 in the final of the $600,000 Washington Classic.

Roddick won 10 of 11 service games against Blake - and 63 of 64 last week - to give notice that he is ready to contend for the upcoming US Open championship.

"I definitely feel good," said Roddick, the number one seed. "I couldn't be happier as far as my preparation. I just want to try to have this roll over into the next couple of weeks."

Roddick, the 2001 champion, took advantage of careless service games by 25-year-old Blake late in each set to win the match and a $74,250 paycheque.

The fifth-ranked Roddick, 23 later this month, broke Blake's serve in the second game of the match to grab a 2-0 lead. But Blake returned the favour in the seventh game, Roddick's first service loss of the week, and the two were back on serve.

With Roddick leading 6-5 Blake played a loose service game and when he punched an easy overhead beyond the baseline, the first set was over.

In the second set Blake trailed 4-3 when he played an error-prone service game to let Roddick break. Roddick then closed out the match with an ace, his 67th this week in five matches.

Roddick's powerful serve was the difference in the match. In addition to the aces he put pressure on Blake with dozens of serves that his opponent barely managed to reach.

Early last year Blake suffered a broken neck during practice and then contracted a condition that hampered his vision and caused facial paralysis.

The New York native, the 2003 Washington Classic champion, saw his ranking fall off the charts but he was expected to move up some 30 spots to about number 72. His career best ranking is 22, achieved in 2003.

"It hurts to lose right now but when I look back on this week I'll be satisfied that I played some good tennis," he said. "But right now it stings."