Roddick outlasted Robin Soderling 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Saturday to make the BNP Paribas Open final for the first time after failing to get past the semis in his three previous trips to the desert.
"I think I needed it," he said. "It was good timing, and I'd love to see it one further."
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad hereThe American will play for the title Sunday against Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, who rode his big serve to a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1) victory over defending champion Rafael Nadal - the first time in 26 years that both men's semifinals went three sets.
Nadal teamed with fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez to win the men’s doubles, 7-6 (8), 6-3 over top-seeded Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.
“After losing important singles, the victory in doubles makes me happy,” Nadal said. “It’s always nice to end the tournament winning.”
Jelena Jankovic and U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki will play for the women's title Sunday.
All three of Roddick's semifinal losses were against top-10 players, including Nadal last year. No American man has won the singles at Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 2001.
"This is probably the only real big tournament in North America that I haven't won," he said. "I feel like the crowd was on my side and I would hope they're there tomorrow. They certainly have an effect on a match."
Roddick and Soderling took turns throwing their rackets in frustration as the momentum swung back and forth. Roddick gained control when he held for 3-all in the third, then broke Soderling en route to winning three of the final four games.
"I knew I was returning real well, so I thought this might be the rare occasion where that would be the thing that won it for me," Roddick said. "Ultimately, the fact that I put a lot of pressure on his service games ended up helping."
Roddick, the highest-ranked American on the ATP Tour, already has won a title in Brisbane this year. He lost in the San Jose final last month and was a quarterfinalist in Memphis.
Against Nadal, Ljubicic served 17 aces - giving him 64 in the tournament - and overcame 51 unforced errors in ending a five-match losing streak against the world's third-ranked player.
Ljubicic upset second-ranked Novak Djokovic in the round of 16 and is in position to win an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time after three runner-up showings, the last in 2006 at Miami.
"I hope this one is going to finally be the victory," he said.
Nadal was trying to end an 11-tournament title drought. He hasn't won since last May in Rome after being hampered by knee injuries last summer and at the Australian Open.
Nadal appeared unbeatable in the opening set, powering forehands out of Ljubicic's reach. But the lefty's best stroke deserted him at times in the second set, when Ljubicic broke for a 5-4 lead on Nadal's double-fault. The Croatian served out the set and then broke again to open the third.
"He was missing more when it was important. He overhit a couple of balls," Ljubicic said. "I didn't feel he was in control of the points. I felt if I can find the rhythm of the returns, I can have a match."
Nadal broke back in the next game, but he later blew a break point to go up 5-3. Ljubicic held with an ace to tie it 4-all. Both players stayed on serve to force the tiebreak, where Nadal committed four errors to fall behind 6-1.
Ljubicic won on his first match point, sending a forehand down the line. He jumped in the air and thrust his right fist in celebration a day after his 31st birthday.
"It's probably the best tiebreaker I ever played in my career," he said. "Absolutely perfect."
He could become the first 30-or-over player to win at Indian Wells since Agassi in 2001.
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