BEIJING -- Andy Roddick will take on unheralded Dudi Sela in the China Open final, while Jelena Jankovic faces Svetlana Kuznetsova in the women's title match.
Roddick was pushed hard by unseeded Bjorn Phau of Germany before winning 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1 and Sela overpowered No. 7 Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals.
The second-seeded Roddick is the heavy favorite in the final, while Sela is looking for a third major upset in the tournament. Sela already ousted top-seeded David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo, and the Israeli has a relaxed attitude ahead of Sunday's matchup.
"For the final I have nothing to lose," he said.
In the women's event, Jankovic fought off No. 5 Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in their semifinal, while Kuznetsova disappointed a noisy home crowd in south Beijing, beating China's Jie Zheng Jie 7-6 (3), 7-5.
Roddick overcame Phau in the third set, waiting patiently for his chance.
"For a while there he was just playing extremely high-risk tennis, and you figure if someone plays that way long enough they're going to start missing a little bit," Roddick said.
Roddick said he would rely heavily on his powerful serve against Sela to avoid the same fate as the Israeli's previous opponents.
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| Andy Roddick is favored in the final against little-known Dudi Sela. (AP) |
Roddick has been a crowd favorite in Beijing. His support might grow even stronger when word leaks out that he's donating US$25,000 to victims of the May 12 earthquake in the Sichuan province. He said the gift was largely spontaneous after talking to people in China.
"We get paid a lot to go to a lot of different places, and I just feel like it's something we should do," Roddick said. "I plan on doing the same for the people who have been hit by the hurricane back home in Texas. It's two similar things."
Sela is ranked only 92nd and can become the first Israeli to take an ATP singles title since Amos Mansdorf in 1993. The last Israeli to reach a singles final was Harel Levy in 2000. He lost to Marat Safin in the final of a Toronto event.
"This match today was on TV in Israel," Sela said. "I'm getting a lot of phone calls, all the newspapers, TV."
Sela started his good run with two weeks of practice before last weekend's Davis Cup victory over Peru. He won both of his matches and then headed to China.
If Jankovic wins the tournament, she will pull within 21 points of No. 1 Serena Williams in the WTA rankings. That will set up a showdown next week in Stuttgart, where Williams, No. 2 Jankovic and six other top-10 players are entered.
Jankovic has had problems with the Russian. Kuznetsova beat her last week in Tokyo and holds a 4-2 career edge.
"Of course, I would like to regain that No. 1 position," Jankovic said. "For me the goal is to end the year as the No. 1 player in the world. I'm really working hard, really trying to win as many matches as possible, win titles."
