Andy Roddick used his strong serve to overpower Robby Ginepri, 7-5, 6-3, yesterday and move into the final at the RCA Championships in Indianapolis.

Roddick will play James Blake for the title, pitting the top two players in the United States. Blake, the tournament's No. 1 seed, is ranked sixth in the world; Roddick, the second seed, is ranked 11th.

Blake defeated ninth-seeded Xavier Malisse, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, to advance. Roddick, who won the tournament in 2003 and 2004, eliminated the defending champion by winning 32 of 40 first-serve points (80 percent) and 12 of 16 second-serve points. He hasn't lost his serve all week.

Roddick is trying to become the tournament's second three-time winner. Pete Sampras won in 1991, 1992 and 1996.

More tennis

Vera Zvonareva ended Serena Williams' run in her first tournament in six months, beating the seven-time Grand Slam champion, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the final of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Mason, Ohio. Zvonareva, unseeded and ranked 52nd, will face fourth-seeded Katarina Srebotnik in the final today.

Hockey

Islanders forward Mike York was awarded an $800,000 raise in salary arbitration, the first setback in the tenure of new general manager Garth Snow. York, acquired before last season from the Edmonton Oilers for former New York captain Michael Peca, avoided arbitration a year ago when he signed a $2.05 million contract. Unless a deal is reached in time, Snow and the Islanders face another arbitration hearing next week with rugged forward Arron Asham, who earned $627,000 last season and was given a $689,700 qualifying offer.

Wild Things

The Washington Wild Things (29-23) had a five-run eighth inning in their 11-0 rout of host Kalamazoo Kings (29-24).

Riverhounds

The Riverhounds (6-4-6) took home their sixth win of the year, defeating the Long Island Rough Riders (1-11-4), 4-1, in their final home match of the season.

Basketball

Diana Taurasi scored 27 points, five in the final minute including the tie-breaking basket with 27 seconds to play, to lead the Phoenix Mercury (11-12) to a 78-74 victory against the host Charlotte Sting (7-17) in WNBA action. ... Lisa Leslie scored 11 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter to lead the visiting Los Angeles Sparks (20-6) to a 73-68 victory against the Indiana Fever (15-9). ... Iziane Castro Marques scored a career-high 26 points to lead the visiting Seattle Storm (12-12) to a 91-54 victory against New York, handing the Liberty (4-19) their franchise-worst 10th consecutive loss. ... Swin Cash scored 13 of her 17 points in the first quarter, leading the host Detroit Shock (16-7) to a 89-70 rout of the Chicago Sky (3-20). ... Margo Dydek scored a season-high 18 points against her former team as the visiting Connecticut Sun (17-6) beat the San Antonio Silver Stars (11-13), 79-61. ... Erin Buescher and Nicole Powell each scored 12 points to lead the Sacramento Monarchs (16-8) to their seventh consecutive win, 86-59 against the host Minnesota Lynx (8-15).

Swimming

Tammy van Wisse, an Australian marathon swimmer shattered an 81-year-old record by swimming from Battery Park in New York City to Sandy Hook, N.J., in just over 5 hours. Van Wisse, 37, covered the 22 miles in 5 hours, 6 minutes, 48 seconds Friday, breaking the old mark of 7:11, set by Gertrude Ederle on June 15, 1925.

Soccer

Jean Philippe Peguero, the New York Red Bulls' leading scorer, was declared ineligible for last night's game against Kansas City because Major League Soccer was in the process of selling his contract to an unidentified professional club in Denmark. ... Mike Magee scored in the 25th minute to give the New York Red Bulls (5-6-8) a 1-0 victory against the Kansas City Wizards (6-11-2). ... Peter Vagenas' goal in the 14th minute gave the Los Angeles Galaxy (5-10-5) a 1-1 tie with the host Columbus Crew (4-9-7) in Major League Soccer.