Roddick out injured, Murray in final

Andy Roddick's hopes of a fifth Queen's Club title ended painfully yesterday when the American limped out midway through the first set of his all-American semi-final against James Blake.

Roddick's retirement threw his Wimbledon hopes into disarray, with that tournament only nine days away, and handed Blake a final showdown with British top seed Andy Murray.

The world number three stood one match away from his first grasscourt title after hustling past Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2 6-4.

Second seed Roddick had high hopes of facing Murray today but it all went wrong in the final point of the third game against Blake.

Stranded at the net, Roddick quickly turned around to chase down a Blake lob and hit the ball between his legs.

He continued to walk towards the back of the court and sprained his ankle between the raised border of the grass surface and the concrete surround.

After Blake held for a 4-3 lead, Roddick took a medical time out to have the ankle strapped but he continued to shake his head as he put his shoes back on and retired.

WTA Edgbaston Classic SFs: Rybarikova bt Mirza 3-6 6-0 6-3; Li bt Sharapova 6-4 6-4.