Roddick Sets Murray Clash; Ward Ousts Querrey

© Getty ImagesAndy Roddick is chasing a fifth title at The Queen's Club.

Four-time champion Andy Roddick came through a rain-interrupted clash with Fernando Verdasco, 6-2, 6-2, on Friday to set an intriguing semi-final with British favourite Andy Murray at the AEGON Championships.

Rain delayed the start of play and it was 1:45pm before the players walked on to court. From the start, Roddick dominated. The American raced through the first set with two breaks of serve and was leading 3-1 in the second set when a heavy rain shower interrupted proceedings at 2:44pm. The weather cleared up 90 minutes later and at the resumption Roddick won three of the final four games to claim victory.

The 28-year-old Roddick won the Queen’s Club title between 2003-2005 and again in 2007, and improved his event record to 32-5. The right-hander goes into the clash against Murray with the confidence of having beaten the Scot in their last match, which came in the 2009 Wimbledon semi-finals.

"It's going to be tough," said Roddick, looking ahead to facing Murray. "I don't think there's going to be a lot of surprises either way. I feel like we're probably in the two hands' worth of guys that really feel comfortable on this surface and feel like they can play well on it. It's certainly going to be tough. He's played a lot of matches. He's playing well. It's going to be a tough one for sure."

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British No. 1 Murray received a walkover into the last four when his opponent, Croatia’s Marin Cilic, was forced to withdraw due to an ankle injury. The Scot won the ATP World Tour 250 grass-court tennis tournament in 2009 (d. Blake).

World No. 216 James Ward backed up his upset win over fourth seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round by returning on Friday to finish off defending champion Sam Querrey. Play had been suspended on Thursday evening due to darkness with Ward having just claimed the second set, and the 24 year old held his nerve at the resumption to defeat the No. 26-ranked Querrey 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

“It’s been unbelievable, the last two matches, obviously the best two wins of my career so far,” said Ward. “[My serve] helped me out in a few sticky moments out there. I thought I played all right from the back, as well. Overall it was a good performance.”

Ward is the first British wild card since Chris Bailey in 1989 to reach the quarter-finals at The Queen’s Club. With Andy Murray having also reached the last eight, it is the first time since 2001 that two British players have featured at this stage at the tournament.

This is Ward’s best run at an ATP World Tour event since reaching the quarter-finals at the AEGON International (l. to Dolgopolov) in Eastbourne last June. He will face France’s Adrian Mannarino for a place in the semi-finals.