Roddick ends title drought

“I think the biggest thing this week was returns and the way I was playing the points. Once I got into them, I didn’t feel rushed, I didn’t feel like I had to hit a winner,” Roddick said.

Roddick kissed the court, did a lap of the arena and exchanged high fives with fans after wrapping up his fourth Masters Series title.

“It was kind of a relief and this is a special place for me,” he said. “I definitely wanted to share it with whoever I could in the crowd.”

In a repeat of the 2003 US Open final, which Roddick won, the American served superbly throughout and never allowed Ferrero a chance to get a foothold in the match.

After an easy first set, Roddick stormed to a 5-2 lead in the second. He was broken when serving for the match, but made no mistake the second time round, hitting three aces in succession to clinch a victory which will lift him back into the top 10 of the world rankings.

Meanwhile, at WTA Montreal Cup, former world number one Martina Hingis’s bid to win the title was delayed after rain washed out play in the final on Sunday.

Hingis sat through heavy rainfall before organisers finally abandoned the day’s play nearly five and a half hours after the scheduled start of the final against Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Montenegro.

Ivanovic advanced by defeating ninth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-4 in their semi-final, which was suspended by rain on Saturday. “I’m excited by playing the match, she’s a great player,” Ivanovic said. “She will have to work hard to beat me.”