Roddick in final after beating Youzhny

NEW YORK, Sep 10 (Reuters) Former champion Andy Roddick came through a tense battle with Mikhail Youzhny beating the Russian 6-7 6-0 7-6 6-3 to set up a U S Open final against Roger Federer.

The ninth-seeded American overcame a few early nerves to end Youzhny's surprise run to the last four.

''It means the world to me,'' Roddick said yesterday.

''(After the first set) I tried to step into my shots a little.

I took a page out of a guy named Andre Agassi's book and stepped inside the baseline.

''Now I will enjoy this for about five minutes, have lots to eat tonight, get some rest and then try to come out here tomorrow and win a U S Open.'' Roddick made just 18 unforced errors but Youzhny took the first set on the tiebreak with some superb all-court play.

The American hit back to take the second set in just 22 minutes and after squeezing the third on a tiebreak, broke once in the fourth to clinch victory on his fourth match point.

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