Roddick blasts past Schalken to reach final in Indianapolis

Andy Roddick of the US needed only an hour Saturday to beat third-seeded Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-2 and reach the final of the US$600,000 RCA Championships.

The top-seeded Roddick will face No. 2 Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand for the title in a rematch from Wimbledon. Paradorn eliminated unseeded Nicolas Thomann of France 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the semifinals.

"I'm just been improving with each match," the top-seeded Roddick said. "Today I played pretty solid. I was pretty happy."

The Wimbledon semifinalist moved into his third final in the past five tournaments.

It's the first time Roddick has played in the hard-court event at Indianapolis.

"He's been playing great this week," Paradorn said.

Schalken much of a factor Saturday, taking a 2-1 lead in the first set before Roddick took control by winning four straight games thanks in part to a serve that topped out at 210kph.

Roddick his serve was off, though he finished with five aces to one for Schalken. Roddick also won 18 of 21 first-serve points.

Roddick, sixth in the ATP rankings, has won 19 of his past 21 matches and improved to 14-1 with Brad Gilbert as his coach.