Roddick Reaches Toronto Final

Andy Roddick defeated Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-3, Saturday night in a semifinal match of the Tennis Masters Canada at Toronto.

Roddick, 19, will try to become the youngest player to win the tournament since American Michael Chang won in 1990 as an 18-year-old.

Roddick plays unseeded Guillermo Canas of Argentina in the final today.

Canas defeated third-seeded Tommy Haas, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5), in the other semifinal.

Canas had eliminated No. 2 Marat Safin, No. 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov and No. 10 Roger Federer.

Canas served 11 aces to eight for Haas.

Roddick, seeded 12th, improved to 44-13 in matches this year, and will increase his 2002 earnings to more than $600,000.

“[Canas] really doesn’t have a weakness,” Roddick said. “He’s played the best tennis of anybody all week.

“I’m going to have to play a really great match to get a win here.”

In doubles semifinals, sixth-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan of the U.S. defeated seventh-seeded David Prinosil of Germany and David Rikl of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, and top-seeded Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Daniel Nestor of Canada defeated eighth-seeded Joshua Eagle and Sandon Stolle of Australia, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4).

*

Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker reached an early settlement in his tax evasion case, a German magazine reported.

A plan has been worked out in which Becker will pay the taxes he is charged with avoiding, plus penalties of $6.6 million, according to Der Spiegel weekly.

The agreement will be proposed by the judge and Becker’s lawyers on the first day of his trial, expected to take place in Munich later this month.

Hockey

Matt Cullen agreed to a two-year contract to remain with the Mighty Ducks. The Ducks and Cullen were scheduled to go to salary arbitration today. Cullen, 25, had 18 goals and 30 assists last season.

Arena Football

John Dutton passed for six touchdowns and Barry Wagner scored five, and the San Jose SaberCats overcame an 18-point deficit to defeat the Tampa Bay Storm, 55-48, before 13,074 in an Arena Football League quarterfinal playoff game at San Jose.

Dutton’s 35-yard pass to James Roe with about a minute to play broke a 48-48 tie.

San Jose, which set a league record with its 13-1 regular-season mark, won its 12th consecutive home game.

Jay Gruden threw four touchdown passes to lead the Orlando Predators past the New Jersey Gladiators, 49-46, before 6,034 in another quarterfinal at East Rutherford, N.J. The Predators will make their ninth semifinal appearance in 12 seasons.

Soccer

Birgit Prinz had two goals and an assist, and the Carolina Courage earned a Women’s United Soccer Assn. playoff berth with a 4-1 victory over the San Jose CyberRays before 6,629 at Cary, N.C.

Stacey Tullock, Erica Iverson and Marinette Pichon each scored second-half goals to lead the Philadelphia Charge over the San Diego Spirit, 3-1, in a WUSA game before 6,889 at Villanova, Pa. Philadelphia clinched a spot in the playoffs.

Swimming

Ian Thorpe’s quest for seven Commonwealth Games gold medals ended when he finished second to world champion and fellow Australian Matt Welsh in the 100-meter backstroke at Manchester, England.

Welsh finished in a games-record 54.72 seconds to get his second gold. Thorpe finished in 55.38.

Thorpe opened the games with victories in five finals and was in contention to match Mark Spitz’s 1972 Olympic run of seven gold medals in one competition.

Franziska van Almsick of Germany set a world record in the 200-meter freestyle of 1 minute 56.64 seconds at the European Swimming Championships in Berlin.

Van Almsick, who won her fourth medal of the meet, broke her own record of 1:56.78, set in 1994 at Rome.

Miscellany

Acelino Freitas remained unbeaten and retained his WBA and WBO junior lightweight titles with a 12-round decision over Daniel Attah, the WBO’s top-ranked 130-pound contender, at Phoenix. Freitas, of Brazil, is 32-0. Attah, of Nigeria, is 20-1-1.

Ohio State sophomore fullback Branden Joe, charged with drunk driving, has been suspended for three weeks of preseason camp and for the Buckeyes’ season opener against Texas Tech on Aug. 24.

Weightlifter Krishnan Madasamy of India was stripped of the three silver medals he won Tuesday in the men’s 62-kilogram competition in the Commonwealth Games after testing positive for the steroid nandrolone.