Top seed and defending champion Andy Roddick survived three match points before edging out 10th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic 1-6, 7-6, 7-6 in the semi-finals of the RCA Tennis Championships in Indianapolis on Saturday.
The American dug deep into his reserves on several occasions to move into the final against German 12th-seed Nicolas Kiefer, who eased past unseeded Frenchman Gregory Carraz 6-2, 6-2 in the other semi-final.
Should he win on Sunday, Roddick will become the first repeat champion in the event since Pete Sampras won back-to-back titles in 1991-92.
The contest was the first meeting between the two since the Croatian slammed Roddick for being too loud and claiming he was disliked by other tour players, after losing to the American at last year's U.S. Open.
However, Roddick was gracious speaking to reporters after the latest match.
"I was a little luckier than he was," Roddick said.
"I'd like to take credit for today, but I don't know."
Roddick should take credit for his ability to win tiebreakers, the American has a 14-1 record in them since the French Open.
He saved three match points in the second set and appeared to wear down the Croatian after winning the first tiebreaker 12-10.
"I cannot say I'm disappointed, because I did everything well," Ljubicic said.
The 12th-seeded Kiefer had a much easier time against Carraz, dominating the match with his strong return game.
Kiefer will be in a final for the fourth time this year and for the second consecutive week. He lost to Tommy Haas in the final of last week's tour stop at Los Angeles.
Roddick defeated Kiefer in straight sets in their only career meeting, at Cincinnati in 2002.
First prize in the hardcourt warm-up event for the U.S. Open is $74,250.
