MELBOURNE - Rainer Schuettler squeezed every last drop of energy and fight out of Andy Roddick tonight to reach his first grand slam final at the Australian Open with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.
The 26-year-old employed ruthless tactics to smother Roddick's hopes and become only the second German,
behind Boris Becker, to reach the men's final in the event's 98-year history.
For Roddick it was a cruel exit from a tournament in which he had burst through barriers and set new marks for courage and determination.
Before this event he had never come back from two sets down to win a match. In Melbourne he managed it twice. On the second occasion he saved a match point and twice came from a set down to beat Younes El Aynaoui 4-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, 21-19.
It was a match which lasted a minute short of five hours and featured the longest fifth set in grand slam history. It put Roddick and El Aynaoui in the record books but ultimately destroyed the American's chances of reaching a first grand slam final.
Schuettler will play Andre Agassi in Sunday's final. The American second seed is chasing a fourth Open crown, a record for an overseas player.
