Andy Roddick joined elite company as he won a third consecutive title at Queen's club with a 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/4) victory over Croatian Ivo Karlovic Sunday. Roddick, 31-7 this season, claimed a 15th straight match on grass in west London as he took victory in a struggle of serve in one hour 20 minutes.
The American joins Lleyton Hewitt (2000-2002) and John McEnroe (1978-81) in earning three straight victory at the prime Wimbledon tune-up event
The pair of big-hitters fired down a total of 26 aces with the only break point chances three saved by Karlovic, ranked 77th.
"His serve is probably the biggest weapon in tennis," Roddick said of his 2.08-metre opponent. "You can't feel how hard it is unless you're on the other side of the net.
Roddick added the trophy to a pair he has already claimed in San Jose and Houston. "Three in a row is great, I love playing here, there's so much history and such a beautiful place," he said of the pristine private club Karlovic, who beat top seed Lleyton Hewitt in the quarter-finals, came into the contest without having dropped a set and having notched 80 aces. He added 16 on a grey Sunday afternoon.
The final was the first in the career for the 26-year-old Karlovic, whose main claim to fame was a first-round upset of holder Hewitt at Wimbledon, 2003.
Roddick led handily in both tie-breakers before Karlovic charged back making the American work hard for his win. Roddick will prepare for the June 20 start of Wimbledon with private training in London.
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