KEY POINTS:
MEMPHIS - German Tommy Haas produced a stunning performance to crush top seed Andy Roddick 6-3 6-2 and win the Memphis International for the third time today.
The defending champion outplayed Roddick in every department, dropping just seven points on serve as he wrapped up his 11th career
title in brilliant fashion.
The German did not face a single break point on his serve in the whole tournament, a total of 47 games.
"I think I served extremely well," Haas said.
"I was holding my serve well and being patient at the baseline, going for the right shots at the right time. Everything seemed to be working really well.
"He had some trouble getting his first serves in early in the match and I took advantage of it. That was the key. I hit a lot of winners and made very few unforced errors, and everything seemed to click."
American Roddick struggled on his own serve and Haas dominated from the baseline, breaking the top seed in the second game and cruising through the first set in 32 minutes.
The second set was the same story as an ultra-confident Haas broke in the third and fifth games before clinching victory with his eighth ace.
Haas, the winner in Memphis 1999 and 2006, becomes only the second man to win the event on three occasions, following Jimmy Connors the former world number one and now Roddick's coach.
The world number nine is the first man to win a title without losing his serve since Croatian Ivan Ljubicic achieved the feat in Vienna in October of last year.
Roddick admitted he had been a distant second best.
"He just outplayed me today," the American said.
"I shot myself in the foot by playing sloppy early. Then he's got the momentum and he went with it. I think if you get to 2-2, 3-3, 4-4 in the first set then maybe it's different."
Like the German's four opponents before him, Roddick never got near the Haas serve as the second seed extended his outstanding run.
"It's pretty impressive," he said. "I don't know that I've seen it happen before.
"I've gone through a tournament without losing serve, I've had streaks of 100-odd games without getting broken but not without facing a break point."
Despite the defeat, Roddick will still move up one spot to third in the latest ATP rankings, released on Tuesday.
- REUTERS