American trio sweep into Indianapolis semi-finals

INDIANAPOLIS, July 22 (Reuters) Top seed James Blake completed a sweep of three Americans into the RCA Championships semi-finals with a 7-6 7-win over Nicolas Mahut.

Blake joined compatriots Andy Roddick and Robby Ginepri in the last four, providing a boost for US tennis after a disappointing Wimbledon in which no American players survived the first week of the singles.

Blake landed a return winner on match point which required an electronic replay by the Hawkeye linecalling system before victory was confirmed yesterday.

''I can't think of a better ending, two tough tiebreaks and a match which turned on a couple of points,'' Blake told reporters. ''Three Americans in the semis brings a smile to my face.

''We know how well we can play on these hard courts.'' Defending champion Ginepri and longtime rival Andy Roddick blasted into an Indianapolis meeting for a third straight year.

Ginepri dominated off-form Thai Paradorn Srichaphan 6-4 6-1 while Roddick earned 6-2 6-3 revenge against Gilles Muller after the Luxembourg player beat him in the first round of the US Open last August.

''It feels great, he broke my heart at the Open,'' Roddick told reporters. ''I wanted to play better today. I'm looking forward to Robby, we first played when we were 11-years-old.'' Roddick broke Muller twice in the second set and advanced on a fourth match point.

Fourth seed Ginepri was untouchable in his second set against Paradorn, losing just one point on serve among the seven he dropped over the entire contest.

Paradorn, seeded eighth, had a poor day, losing in 49 minutes, with Ginepri running off 11 consecutive points midway through the second set.

Ginepri, beaten in the opening match in 10 of 15 tournaments this season, never faced a break point.

''Paradorn was clearly not playing like he can,'' Ginepri said.

''Most players, including myself, have huge respect for him. He can hit you off the court.'' Belgian ninth seed Xavier Malisse accounted for Chile's third-seeded Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 6-4 to complete the semi-final lineup.

Reuters PM GC0847