Bruins win!

VANCOUVER -- The Boston Bruins have gone from chokers to champions in 13 months. They capped pick-your-hero night with a Stanley Cup celebration.

Tim Thomas foiled the Vancouver Canucks one last time to win the Conn Smythe Trophy and second-liners Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron provided the offense that brought the Stanley Cup back to Boston for the first time in 39 years. In the process of celebrating their 4-0 win at Rogers Arena in Game 7 on Wednesday night, the Bruins also erased the bitter memory of last year's historic collapse against Philadelphia in the second round.

"We never, never quit, and that's what I'm proud of," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "They're so deserving of what has happened here. It's not a fluke. It's something they earned."

Marchand finished his rookie season with a pair of goals and an assist in Game 7 while Bergeron beat Roberto Luongo twice, including once while Boston was shorthanded late in the second period. Dennis Seidenberg added a pair of assists to help the Bruins send 18,860 disappointed fans into the downtown streets wondering if their team will ever win the Stanley Cup.

The home team had won every game in this Stanley Cup Final until Wednesday.

"It's tough right now," said Canucks center Ryan Kesler, who finished the series with just one point. "It's really tough."

With 37 more saves in Game 7, Thomas now owns the NHL record for most saves in the postseason (798) and a Stanley Cup Final (238) as well as most shots faced in a postseason (849). He allowed only 8 goals in the Final and became the first goalie in NHL history to win Game 7 with a shutout on the road. He is only the fourth goalie in history to post a shutout in Game 7.

"Yeah, I was scared," Thomas admitted in his postgame press conference. "I won't lie. I had nerves yesterday and today. I faked it as well as I could, and I faked my way all the way to the Stanley Cup."

2011 STANLEY CUP FINAL

SERIES STATUS: BRUINS WIN 4-3

 

• GAME 1: VAN 1, BOS 0 | VIDEO | PHOTOS
• GAME 2: VAN 3, BOS 2 (OT) | VIDEO | PHOTOS
• GAME 3: BOS 8, VAN 1 | VIDEO | PHOTOS
• GAME 4: BOS 4, VAN 0 | VIDEO | PHOTOS
• GAME 5: VAN 1, BOS 0 | VIDEO | PHOTOS
• GAME 6: BOS 5, VAN 2 | VIDEO | PHOTOS
• GAME 7: BOS 4, VAN 0 | VIDEO | PHOTOS

RELATED STORIES:

 

• Highlights of the night: Best of Game 7
• Hard work pays off with Stanley Cup for Bruins 
• Bruins' Recchi announces retirement
• How loud is Game 7? Decibel Meter will tell you
• BLOG: Vancouver Canucks vs. Boston Bruins

 SERIES ARCHIVE ›           COMPLETE PLAYOFF COVERAGE ›

Mark Recchi didn't fake anything after the game. Boston's 43-year-old forward announced his retirement on the ice during the Bruins' celebration.

Recchi went out in style, winning his third Stanley Cup in his home province, just 160 miles from his hometown of Kamloops, B.C. He also went out with an assist in Game 7, giving him 7 points in the Final and 14 in 25 playoff games.

"It's the end for me," said Recchi, who received the Stanley Cup first from Bruins' captain Zdeno Chara. "I'm going out on top and I couldn't happier with this group of guys. Regardless of what happened, this was going to be one of the best groups I have ever played with. We're fortunate to win and we're going to enjoy this."

Marchand didn't make any friends in Vancouver these last 2 1/2 weeks, but he burned the Canucks again by scoring two more goals, giving him at least one in all of Boston's wins in the Final. Marchand had 7 points in the series to give him 19 in his first NHL postseason.

"I think they got really cocky and they thought they were just going to roll over us," Marchand said, throwing one final shot at the Canucks on his way out of Vancouver. "We took pucks and bodies to the net and we were able to pull it off."

On the flip side, Roberto Luongo, who had been spectacular at home in the Final and dreadful on the road, was only average Wednesday after giving up three goals on eight shots in just 8:35 of work in Boston on Monday.

He was beaten by a Bergeron's one-timer in the first period, a Marchand wraparound 12:13 into the second and Bergeron's sliding shorthanded goal a little more than five minutes later.

Luongo again failed to come up with a big, momentum-turning save. He may never live it down.

"What are you going to do? We all want to be better," Luongo said. "That's the bottom line. We're not going to point fingers at one individual. I think as a team, if we all could've stepped up a notch, starting with myself, we could've gotten that job done."

The Canucks were the best team in the regular season for 82 games, and after a near-monumental collapse in the first round against Chicago, they rolled through Nashville and San Jose to get to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1994.

But just as they did 17 years ago, they lost Game 7 to an Original Six team.

"At the end of the day, you've got to give credit where credit is due. Boston played a real strong game," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "They have great goaltending and they were able to score a couple of tough goals around our net and they deserved to win."

Worse yet, Vancouver had the better start to Game 7, but the Bruins withstood the swarm, got a goal from Bergeron with 5:23 left in the first period and went into the dressing room with a 1-0 lead. It was 3-0 by the end of 40 minutes -- and Rogers Arena was silent.

Vancouver held a 21-13 advantage in shots on goal after two periods, but it didn't matter. Thomas was again the far superior goalie.

He made eight saves in the first, 13 in the second and 16 more in the third.

"It was one of the best (performances by a goalie) I've ever seen -- from Day 1 when he played that exhibition game the Czech Republic until the final game," Recchi said. "I've never seen that throughout the course of the whole year."

Ironically, Thomas did not make a save on the Canucks' best chance to tie the game. Instead, it was Chara.

Roughly nine minutes into the second period, Alexandre Burrows collected a turnover from Chara in front of the net and waited until Thomas came far out of his crease before firing at what he thought was an empty net. Chara got in front after the turnover and went down into a butterfly to stop Burrows' shot from going in.

Less than three minutes later, Marchand beat Luongo with a backhanded wraparound goal to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead that ballooned to 3-0 when Bergeron scored a disputed shorthanded goal with 2:25 to play before the second intermission.

The officials had to go to video review for confirmation to make sure Bergeron didn't inadvertently knock the puck in with his hands as he slid into Luongo.

"I knew it was a goal because I didn't touch it once I was on the ice," Bergeron said.

He was right and the Bruins had a three-goal lead heading into the third period.

Twenty minutes later, they were Stanley Cup champions.

"We know it's been since 1972 and they're dying for a hockey championship team in Boston," Julien said. "We are finally able to deliver that to them."

Game 7 on the way!

Stanley Cup finals

Series tied, 3-3

G	DATE	RESULT
1	June 1	Vancouver 1, Boston 0
2	June 4	Vancouver 3, Boston 2 (OT)
3	June 6	Boston 8, Vancouver 1
4	June 8	Boston 4, Vancouver 0
5	Friday	Vancouver 1, Boston 0
6	Monday	Boston 5, Vancouver 2
G	DATE	TIME	SITE	TV
7	Today	8:00	Vancouver	NBC, CBC

BOSTON -- The hockey sticks were loaded on the plane. The goalie pads were placed in the baggage compartment. The skates were stowed on board.
What about the aggressive playing style that brought three dominant victories at home? The Boston Bruins hoped that also made the 2,500-mile journey to Vancouver in search of hockey's biggest prize in a stirring Stanley Cup finals.
"We have to play the same way as we do at home," center David Krejci said after the Bruins forced Game 7 with a win on Monday night and before they left on their coast-to-coast flight Tuesday.
But the road team has lost all six games. The Canucks' victories have been by a single goal -- 1-0, 3-2 and 1-0. The Bruins' wins have been blowouts -- 8-1, 4-0 and 5-2. The totals: Boston 19, Vancouver 8.
Somehow, the Bruins must unpack the energy and physical play that were missing in the Game 5 shutout loss in time for tonight's finale. In other words, play like a packed house is screaming for them and against the Canucks.
"Our guys have responded well and now we have to make sure we don't get comfortable with our game," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "We're willing to bring it to Vancouver with us, because that's what it's going to take to win."
The fans will be rooting for the first Stanley Cup in the Canucks' 40-year history and against the Bruins' quest for their first in 39 years.
"It's kind of the same thing as here," said Krejci, the NHL playoff leader with 12 goals and 23 points. "Every hit they do, or every shot, the crowd's pretty loud there."
Notebook: Canucks forward Mason Raymond will miss Game 7 and could still be out to start next season with a fractured vertebrae after being checked into the boards 20 seconds into Game 6 by defenseman Johnny Boychuk. Raymond lay on the ice for several minutes before being helped off and taken to the hospital.

With Triumph at Queen’s, Murray Looks Forward to Wimbledon

London, England – World number 4 and UK’s top player Andy Murray won his second Aegon Championships title at Queen’s Club, defeating fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, 3-6 7-6(2) 6-4. This is Murray’s 17th title and his first since winning Shanghai in October 2010. The final match was moved from Sunday to Monday due to rain.
“It was an unbelievable week for me,” Murray said. “I started off not playing great but managed to find my way through, and the last two matches were so much fun.” As for the challenge of bagging his homesoil Grand Slam, Murray said: “I really look forward to Wimbledon. It’s been great preparation this week and I’ll work hard the next five or six days to get ready.”
With Wimbledon to begin on June 20, Murray was hoping to become the seventh player in the Open Era to win the Queen’s-Wimbledon double. World number 1 Rafael Nadal did it 2008 and Lleyton Hewitt in 2002. Murray, also the 2009 champion here, was the first British man to win this event since Francis Gordon Lowe won in 1913-1914 and 1925. Murray will now head to Wimbledon with increased confidence.
Murray has been a finalist in three Grand Slam finals, latest of which is at this year’s Australian Open where he lost to Novak Djokovic. He reached the semifinal of the French Open for the first time (losing to eventual champion Nadal). In this week’s semifinal, he showed a dominant performance in ousting four-time Queen’s champion Andy Roddick. However, he was tested in the final by Tsonga, who dismissed top seed Nadal in the quarterfinal.
Throughout the final, both players were evenly matched, with Murray’s speed countered by Tsonga’s net play. In the first set, Tsonga broke Murray to lead 4-2. Murray had two chances to break back when Tsonga was serving for the first set but he was eventually overpowered by the Frenchman.
The second set is still a close affair. Tsonga continued to play his best tennis, frustrating Murray by saving breakpoint opportunities against him. But in the tiebreak, Tsonga suddenly dropped his first-serve percentages which Murray took full advantage, leveling the match at one set apiece. In the third set, Murray earned his only break of the match, taking a decisive 3-2 lead in the deciding set when Tsonga fired wide a forehand down the line. Murray then held on along the way to close out victory.
Tsonga was aiming to become the first French player to win Queen’s Club and was hoping to earn his first title in nearly two years. His last title came at Tokyo in October 2009.

Mavs' Big Team sheds negative labels with team's first title

Posted Jun 13 2011 1:52AM

MIAMI -- All the smoke and glitter, laser shows and summertime hype generated in this building 11 months ago wasn't enough to overcome the unifying force of energy the Dallas Mavericks unleashed on this night and in this series.
In the end, the Miami Heat's Big 3 couldn't overcome the Mavericks' Big Team, from one through 12.
The old school bunch that fought off the demons that fuel its own collective history of coming up short, the missed opportunities from The Finals against the Heat in 2006 and all the other postseason missteps of the past five years, walked out AmericanAirlines Arena late Sunday night with that Larry O'Brien trophy they'd all dreamed of for years.
"It feels amazing now to know that nobody can ever take this way away from us again," Mavericks star and Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki said, "and for one year we're the best team that was out there. That feels amazing."

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Nowitzki and Jason Terry avenged the that six-game loss in The Finals five years ago, closing the door on the Heat's championship hopes on their home floor this time, the same way Dwyane Wade and the Heat did back then.
"Dirk and Jet have had to live with those demons for five years," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "And as of tonight, those demons are officially destroyed."
Jason Kidd's 17-year (and counting) journey, which included two missed opportunities on this same stage in back-to-back seasons with New Jersey earlier in his career, will now include a championship.
Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler, Peja Stojakovic, J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, Brian Cardinal, Ian Mahinmi and all the rest of the "misfits and cast offs," as Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson referred to them during their magical run through this postseason, will walk into the sunset of 2010-11 season as champions.
Even Carlisle, an assistant coach in Indiana when the Pacers lost to the Lakers in The Finals in 2000, finally walks off a winner. His team was resourceful, resilient and relentless in every way imaginable, rallying from large deficits to win three straight games to finish this series, the 105-95 score in Sunday night's Game 6 the largest winning margin in any game in the series.
"This is one of the really unique teams," Carlisle said after praising Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Nelson for putting together such an eclectic group of veterans. "This is my opinion now. This is one of the unique teams in NBA history, because it wasn't about high-flying star power.. Come on, how often do we hear about the LeBron James reality show and what he is or isn't doing? When are people going to talk about the purity of our game and what we accomplished? That's what's special."
Special is the group Carlisle drove to a championship against all odds, against a team in the Heat that many crowned 11 months ago after Wade convinced James and Bosh to join him on a championship quest that ultimately came up short against a group that proved to be a superior team in the end.
"They've made a statement, a colossal statement. Not just about our team but the game in the general," Carlisle said, continuing to stump for his team even as they paraded through the bowels of the building, taking turns hugging and kissing that Larry O'Brien trophy. "Playing it a certain way. Trusting the pass. Our team is not about individual ability, it's about collective will, collective grit, collective guts. We're skilled and talented, too. But our game is on the ground. And the guys we were playing, their game was in the air. Fortunately, as the series went on, we stayed on the ground enough to be able to win it."

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Their path was improbable, given their recent postseason struggles, they were bounced in the first round of the playoffs in three of the past four seasons before this one. Their bond proved to be impenetrable, regardless of the situation, be it in Dallas or on the road.
No lead was safe. No team, no matter how much more athletic or how many more superstar names they possessed, could solve them. They finished Portland in six games in the first round, the two-time defending champion Lakers in a sweep in the Western Conference semifinals and upended Team Next, Oklahoma City, in five games in the conference finals.
Yet even with all that work done in the rugged Western Conference, the Mavericks' one-star group was supposed to be no match for the Heat's superstar trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
But it was Nowitzki, playing with a torn tendon in his left middle finger and battling a sinus infection and being clowned on camera by James and Wade about his fever along the way, that shined brightest.
"Man, this is what I obviously played for the last couple of years," Nowitzki said. "I think when you come in this league you want to establish yourself. All these All-Star Games and all those things are nice, in scoring, but when you get to a certain age, you've basically seen it all and all you play for is that ring. And I think that's the kind of energy we had from the beginning this season."
It's the kind of energy they brought to this series, as well. After they lost Game 1 here the naysayers started talking about a potential sweep. Yet the Mavericks persevered, refusing as always to dwell on the doubters. They were down 15 in Game 2 but battled their way back to win that game and even the series before heading home to Dallas, using their trademark balance from the starters and the bench and the big-short artistry of Nowitzki to turn the series around.
"Down 15, we all looked at each other and we continued to believe," Terry said. "We win that game and the rest is history."
Sunday's Game 6 win was a microcosm of this season, this playoff run and this series. The Mavericks trailed by nine points minutes in, trying to fend off the Heat's last-ditch effort to save their season. Minutes later that deficit morphed into a 12-point lead that was down to just two by halftime. Nine times the lead changed hands in the third quarter before the Mavericks did what they did the entire series, and that's rule the floor when it mattered most in the fourth quarter.

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Terry carried the Mavericks early, scoring 19 of his game-high 27 points before halftime. Nowitzki shook off an early ugly 1-for-12 shooting night, pumping in 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to close the Heat out.
It was a fitting way to finish this series, for those two remaining members of the team that suffered the cruelest defeat five years ago in The Finals -- they led 2-0 and were six minutes away from a 3-0 lead before losing four straight games to Wade, Shaquille O'Neal and the Heat -- to be the two men to carry the Mavericks over the threshold of this moment.
They can shed the "one and done boys" label they've carried around the past few years, courtesy of those aforementioned early playoff flameouts.
They've wiped clean the stain of a 2007 first-round playoff disaster against Golden State, when the No. 1 seed Mavericks were upset by the No. 8 seed Warriors.
Gone are the painful memories of watching the rival Lakers and San Antonio Spurs hoist that championship trophy in the air on the final night of the season.
There's a permanent smile on Cuban's face. Nowitzki's soft label has been retired and Terry can finally sleep, now that the excruciating defeat from five years ago has been put to rest.
"Going in we never used it as a motivating factor," Terry said, wearing a champagne-soaked Mavericks championship T-shirt while admiring his reflection in the Larry O'Brien trophy as he and Kidd made their final podium appearance of the season. "Two totally different teams. You look at what we did along the way, along our journey, getting past Portland. Nobody said we could. Doing what we did to the Lakers. We continued to grind it out, believing in each other, and showed huge resiliency every time we stepped on the court ..."
Champions at last.

Andy Murray reaches Queens final after crushin Roddick

• Venue: Queen's Tennis Club, London
• Date: 6-12 June
• Coverage: Live coverage on BBC Two, online (UK only) and BBC HD and text commentary (#bbctennis) on BBC Sport website; and commentary on Radio 5 live and sports extra

Magnificent Murray romps past Roddick

Andy Murray gave four-time champion Andy Roddick a grass-court masterclass as he swept past the American in 59 minutes to reach the final of the Aegon Championships.

The British number one produced one of his best ever displays, serving brilliantly and passing at will on his way to a 6-3 6-1 victory at Queen's Club.
Murray is now on the verge of reclaiming the title he won in 2009, with Sunday's final against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga brought forward to 1200 BST because of the threat of rain.
That was a consideration on Saturday too, but such was Murray's brilliance he was off the court in under an hour with the sun still shining.
"It was one of those days where everything is just sort of going your way," said Murray. "Like if there was a net cord, it would have gone my way today. If he hit a good shot, it would miss by just a little bit.

Click to play

Murray delighted with form against Roddick

"Everything I was trying, every passing shot I hit, was always in the right spot. I hardly gave him a chance on anything. Sometimes against Andy you guess on the serves - I guessed right every single time today. I don't really remember him acing me hardly in the match.
"I was just seeing the ball really early, and it's difficult to do that every single day."
Two aces in the opening game set the tone, and he immediately went to work on Roddick's usually fearsome serve, reading it superbly and dictating the rallies with his backhand slice.
There was only one winner in the baseline exchanges, Roddick slicing into the net to give up the break in game two before standing and watching as the Scot fired 12 aces past him in racing through the first set, the last on set point.
If Roddick was banking on a lull in the second set, he was out of luck.

Continue reading the main story

Andy had really good ball control today. I felt like he was working it wherever he wanted to

Andy Roddick

Murray actually raised his level, a forehand cross-court pass and a backhand down the line putting the pressure on Roddick in game one before the American double-faulted and dumped a volley into the net.
The floodgates were now open, with a killer drop shot and a blistering forehand pass giving Murray the double-break at 4-1, two more forehands and a lunging volley making it 5-1.
Roddick was little more than a spectator as the end came racing into sight, apparently asking Murray jokingly to "keep it social" when another forehand flew past him in game seven.
The former world number one briefly prolonged the contest by saving two match points, but could only guide a drop shot tamely into the net on the third to end the Murray demolition job.
Asked afterwards if it was the best Murray had played against him in their 10 meetings, Roddick said: "Oh, yeah, he played great. I felt like I hit the ball well. My serve - I haven't seen it, but I had to be close to 70% [Roddick's actual first-serve percentage was 83%].
"I remember missing one second‑serve return. I felt like I missed a bunch of chips and stuff by an inch or two."
Roddick added: "He's one of the best in the world at taking and controlling paces. He's very good at slow, slow, slow, and then he's able to strike. And he had really good ball control today. I felt like he was working it wherever he wanted to."

Canucks take the lead 3-2

VANCOUVER -- All eyes were going to be on Roberto Luongo. Whether he liked it or not, the Vancouver goalie would be the fulcrum of the series. After two substantial losses in Boston, he returned home, needing to prove, yet again, that his psyche isn't made of porcelain. It's not the first time the goalie shouldered that pressure; it wasn't even the first time he felt it this spring.
After two subpar performances against Chicago in the first round, allowing the Blackhawks to bounce back after being down 3-0 in the series, Luongo needed a way to clear his head from the noise and the playoff demons that seemed to plagued him. On the afternoon before Game 7, perhaps the most famous man in this hockey-crazed city had his hand in anonymity, taking a walk along the sea wall in Vancouver's Stanley Park -- just him, a pair of headphones, his thoughts and the splendid view. That night, he buried the Blackhawks and expunged the memories of collapse, of failure, with a 2-1 overtime win.
Nearly two months later, it all seemed a little too familiar. After allowing 12 goals in five-plus periods in Boston, he needed to reboot once again. And on Friday afternoon, just hours before Game 5, the Vancouver goalie took another hike before bringing his team one win away from the Stanley Cup, shutting out the Bruins 1-0 at Rogers Arena.
Shaking off two bad games is literally a walk in the park for Luongo.
"I don't know if they have a sea wall in Boston," he said through a smile after the game, "but I'm going to look for that. ... Sometimes I need to clear my head and put things in perspective. ... I just focus on the journey and everything I need to do to be ready for the game. That's what gets me prepared."
Through the early-going, when the Bruins came out riding the momentum they had generated from two wins at home, Luongo alone kept the Canucks in the game. As his teammates took four penalties in the first period, the netminder made five saves with his team short-handed early, stoning Bruins center Patrice Bergeron twice from the low slot on Boston's third power play. With his team grasping a one-goal lead in the third period, he made the tough and timely saves, the ones that seemed to elude him just days ago. And under the blinding spotlight, Luongo found a way to shine, finishing with 31 saves.

Canucks lead 3-2 GAME 1  Canucks 1, Bruins 0 | Highlights GAME 2  Canucks 3, Bruins 2 (OT) | Highlights GAME 3  Bruins 8, Canucks 1 | Highlights GAME 4  Bruins 4, Canucks 0 | Highlights GAME 5  Canucks 1, Bruins 0 | Highlights GAME 6  at BOS, Mon. June 13, 8 p.m. ET, NBC GAME 7  at VAN, Wed. June 15, 8 p.m. ET, NBC* * If Necessary

He and the Canucks would need all of them, given that Boston goalie Tim Thomas continued to show his wares against the league's best offense. But Vancouver, almost completely silenced by the Vezina Trophy finalist in Boston, had a few ideas on how to solve him. Thomas, often an aggressive goalie who isn't afraid of white ice, was caught high twice, giving Vancouver open looks into his net. The first, with about seven minutes left in the second period, went to fourth-line grinder Tanner Glass, who amazingly whiffed on the shot.
But in the third period, just five minutes in, Vancouver center Maxim Lapierre did what Glass couldn't do. Stationed on the goal line to the right of Thomas's cage, the agitating winger became the beneficiary of an odd carom off the end boards. Kevin Bieksa's shot from the opposite point found its way right onto Lapierre's stick. He flipped the puck in for his second goal of the postseason, closing Thomas's shutout streak at 110:42.
"[Thomas] does play out, and their Ds do block shots," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "Sometimes all you have is a short-side shot. I think that's what Kevin had right there. [But] it took a bounce the right way, right to the other side."
A little bit of luck, and a long walk, will now give Vancouver the chance to lift a Cup.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sarah_kwak/06/10/bruins.canucks.game5/index.html#ixzz1OxgdiEGQ

Tsonga takes out Nadal

London, England (Sports Network) - Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga upset French Open champion Rafael Nadal, while former Queen's Club titlists Andy Murray and Andy Roddick posted quarterfinal victories Friday at the $1 million Aegon Championships, a grass-court Wimbledon tuneup.
The fifth-seeded Tsonga dominated the third set to notch a 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-1 come-from-behind victory over the world No. 1 and 2008 Queen's Club winner Nadal. Tsonga swatted 25 aces en route to victory, his second in seven career tries against Nadal.
The reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and French Open champion Nadal was fresh off his second straight and sixth overall title at Roland Garros. The Spanish slugger bested his great rival Roger Federer in this past Sunday's finale in Paris.
Nadal was riding a nine-match overall winning streak.
Tsonga's semifinal opponent on Saturday will be upstart British wild card James Ward.
Meanwhile, a second-seeded Murray advanced to the final four without even lifting his racquet on Day 5, as eighth-seeded Croat Marin Cilic pulled out of their scheduled quarterfinal affair because of an ankle injury.
The 2009 Queen's Club champion Murray, who lost to Nadal in last week's French Open semis, will battle the third-seeded Roddick in a marquee final-four tilt here on Saturday.
The four-time Queen's Club champion Roddick blew past seventh-seeded Spanish lefthander Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-2 in a mere 65 minutes in a rain- interrupted affair.
Roddick will meet the Australian Open runner-up Murray for a 10th time at the ATP level, with the Brit holding a 6-3 advantage in their lifetime series. The American beat Murray in the quarterfinals here at The Queen's Club three years ago.
The former U.S. Open champion Roddick captured this traditional London event from 2003-05 and again in 2007.
The aforementioned Ward was forced into double duty on Friday.
The third round concluded when the 216th-ranked Brit upended 13th-seeded and defending Queen's Club titlist Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a bout that was suspended here on Thursday night after two sets due to insufficient light.
Querrey beat Mardy Fish in last year's all-American London finale.
The 24-year-old Ward then dismissed France's Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-7 (14-16), 6-4 in 2 hours, 7 minutes in Day 5's quarterfinal nightcap.
This week's champion will take home $113,000.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Tsonga+ousts+Nadal+London/4929069/story.html#ixzz1Ox5OkXkO