No. 7 seed Andy Roddick will take on No. 20 seed Ivan Ljubicic in the championship of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday. Roddick leads the series 7-3, winning their last meeting here in two tie-breaks in the quarter-finals in 2007.

Both players are appearing in their first final in Indian Wells. The last American winner here was Andre Agassi in 2001 and Ljubicic is the first Croat to reach the final in tournament history (since 1976). Roddick is 4-3 in his career in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals while Ljubicic is 0-3.

Roddick, who is 28-18 lifetime in finals, is trying to become the third player this year to win two ATP World Tour titles, joining Croat Marin Cilic and Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Ljubicic is 9-12 in his career in ATP World Tour finals and he’s trying to win his first title in the United States. His previous final was in Miami in 2006. Ljubicic, at 31 years, 2 days, is looking to become the second-oldest tourney winner behind Jimmy Connors (31 yrs., 5 mons.) in 1984.

WHAT’S AT STAKE
Winner: $605,500 and 1,000 South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking points
Runner-up: $295,500 and 600 South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking points

FINALS HISTORY
Roddick
* Appearing in his 47th ATP World Tour level final. He is 28-18 in finals
* Appearing in his 8th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final. He is 4-3 in finals

Ljubicic
* Appearing in his 22h ATP World Tour level final. He is 9-12 in finals
* Appearing in his 4th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final. He is 0-3 in finals

2010 ATP MATCH WINS LEADERS
Roddick leads the ATP World Tour this season with 20 match wins. Here are the leaders in 2010:
W-L Titles
1) Andy Roddick 20-3 1
2) Marin Cilic 18-3 2
3) Marcos Baghdatis 17-6 1
4) Juan Monaco 16-6 0
5) Novak Djokovic 15-3 1
 
SUNDAY CHAMPIONSHIP HEAD-TO-HEADS
(7) Andy Roddick (USA) vs. (20) Ivan Ljubicic Roddick Leads 7-3 (5-2 on Hard)
02 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Ivan Ljubicic 7-6(11) 3-2 ret
02 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Carpet R32 Andy Roddick 7-6(4) 7-6(3)
03 ATP Masters Series Hamburg Clay R64 Andy Roddick 6-4 6-4
03 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati Hard R32 Andy Roddick 6-1 6-4
03 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Andy Roddick 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 7-6(8)
04 Indianapolis (U.S.A.) Hard SF Andy Roddick 1-6 7-6(10) 7-6(3)
05 USA v. CRO WG 1st RD (U.S.) Hard RR Ivan Ljubicic 4-6 6-3 7-6(11) 6-7(7) 6-2
05 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Carpet SF Ivan Ljubicic 6-3 7-5
06 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR Andy Roddick 6-4 6-7(9) 6-1
07 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells Hard QF Andy Roddick 7-6(7) 7-6(8)

RODDICK
Age (Birthdate): 27 (August 30, 1982)
Residence: Austin, Texas
ATP Ranking (Career-High): No. 8 (No. 1 – Nov. 3, 2003)
2010 W-L Record (on Hard): 20-3 (20-3)
2010 Finals W-L: 1-1
Career Finals W-L: 28-18
Last ATP Final/Last ATP Title: ’10 San Jose/’10 Brisbane
2010 Tie-Break W-L: 14-2
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result): 25-7 (Final – 2010)
Coach: Larry Stefanki

LJUBICIC
Age (Birthdate): 31 (March 19, 1979)
Residence: Monte-Carlo, Monaco
ATP Ranking (Career-High): No. 26 (No. 3 – May 1, 2006)
2010 W-L Record (on Hard): 10-4 (10-4)
2010 Finals W-L: 0-0
Career Finals W-L: 9-12
Last ATP Final/Last ATP Title: ’09 Lyon/’09 Lyon
2010 Tie-Break W-L: 3-4
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result): 19-7 (Final –  2010)
Coach: Riccardo Piatti

RODDICK FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
* The 27-year-old American comes into his first final with a 25-7 career mark…He has held serve 52 of 56 games (93%) in the tournament and in his first four matches he was broken once…He lost serve three times in his semi-final win over Soderling…He is No. 3 in aces (51)
* The last American to win the singles title was Andre Agassi (d. Sampras) in 2001…Since then, Americans who have reached the final are Mardy Fish in 2008 (l. to Djokovic) and James Blake in 2006 (l. to Federer)
* He opened the tournament last Sunday with a 64 64 win over qualifier Yen-Hsun Lu, on Tuesday he beat Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 63 64, on Wednesday he ousted No. 22 seed Jurgen Melzer 76(5) 64, on Friday he won for the 11th time against No. 18 seed Tommy Robredo 63 75 and on Saturday took out No. 6 seed Robin Soderling 64 36 63
* Last year he lost in the semi-finals to eventual champion Rafael Nadal…It was his third semi-final (2005, ’07, ‘09)…Four of his losses here have come to Top 10 opponents – No. 10 Henman in ’04 QF, No. 2 Hewitt in ’05 SF, No. 2 Nadal in ’07 SF and No. 1 Nadal last year…He is 4-4 vs. Top 10 foes here
* He captured the doubles title last year (w/Fish), defeating Mirnyi-A. Ram 14-12 in match tie-break

2010 Highlights:
W: Brisbane (d Stepanek); F: San Jose (l Verdasco); QF: Australian Open (l Cilic); Memphis (l Querrey)

2010 in Review:
* The Austin, Texas, resident is appearing in his third ATP World Tour final of the season and has a 20-3 match record, all on hard courts…He is making his eighth career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final appearance (4-3), all in North America…This is his first Masters 1000 final since winning the title in Cincinnati in 2006 (d. Ferrero)…He is 28-18 lifetime in ATP World Tour finals (18-13 in N. America)
* Last month he reached the final in San Jose where he lost to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 36 64 64 and followed with a quarter-final in Memphis (l. to eventual champ Querrey)…He also has an ATP World Tour-best 14-2 mark in tie-breaks
* The top American opened the season by capturing his 28th career ATP World Tour title in Brisbane (d. Stepanek) to extend his title streak to 10 consecutive years (tied w/Federer among active players)…
Then followed by reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open (l. to Cilic in five sets)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
* Has a career record of 135-56 since playing his first Masters 1000 tournament in Miami (falling second round to Agassi) in 2000…Owns a 4-3 in finals, winning his last Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati in 2006 (d. Ferrero)…Also won there in 2003 (d. Fish)…His other titles have come in Montreal in 2003 (d. Nalbandian) and Miami in 2004 (d. Coria, ret.)
* He is trying to become only the fourth player to win all four Masters 1000 titles in North America…The other players to accomplish the feat are Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Roger Federer (twice)

Miscellaneous:
* In 2009, the top American finished in the Top 10 for an eighth consecutive season at No. 7…He and Federer have the longest streak among active players on the ATP World Tour
* His 28 career titles is No. 3 among active players on the ATP World Tour, behind Federer (62) and Nadal (36)…He has an 18-13 career mark in North American finals and his 18 titles have come in 10 different North American tournaments (see chart below)
* Coach Larry Stefanki captured the title in nearby La Quinta in February 1985 (d. David Pate)

LJUBICIC FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
* The 31-year-old Croat (birthday was Friday) is making his first final appearance in his eighth visit …He has a 19-7 record in Indian Wells (4-5 vs. Top 10 opponents) and has reached the 4th Rd. or better the past six years…His previous best result was the QFs in 2006-07, ’09… He was No. 74 last year
* He is the first Croat to reach the final in tournament history…Countryman Goran Ivanisevic reached the semi-finals in 1996 (l. to Haarhuis)
* The last player 30-over to win the title here was 30-year-old Andre Agassi in 2001 and the oldest winner was Jimmy Connors at 31 years, 5 months in 1984
* The last winner here ranked outside the Top 20 was No. 26 Alex Corretja (d. Enqvist) in 2000
* He leads the tournament in aces (66) and has been broken seven times (52 of 59 games held)…En route to the final, has defeated wild card Ryan Harrison 62 76(2), qualifier Brian Dabul 62 63, World No. 2 Novak Djokovic 75 63, No. 21 seed Juan Monaco 46 62 61, and No. 3/defending champ Rafael Nadal
* His last five losses have come to Top 4 opponents...He lost to No. 1 Federer in the fourth round in 2005, quarter-finals in '06 and 4th Rd. in ‘08...He lost to No. 4 Roddick in the quarter-finals in ’07…Last year he defeated No. 8 Simon in 3rd Rd. and lost to No. 4 Murray in quarter-finals

2010 Highlights:
QF: Dubai (l Djokovic)
 
2010 In Review:
* The No. 2 Croat (behind No. 9 Cilic) enters his first ATP World Tour final with a 10-4 match record…
This is his first final since last October when he captured his ninth career title in Lyon (d. Llodra)…He is 9-12 in his career in ATP World Tour finals and trying to capture his first title in the U.S. (’06 Miami, l. to Federer)
* He opened the season by reaching the 3rd Rd. at the Australian Open (l. to Karlovic in four sets) and followed with a 2nd Rd. in Zagreb (l. to Lacko) and 1st Rd. in Rotterdam (l. to Benneteau)
* He will move into the Top 20 South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings next week from No. 26 to around No. 18 by reaching the final and if he wins the title he will climb to around No. 13...The last time he ranked in the Top 20 was the week of Jan. 21, 2008 (at No. 19)
* Has a 36-61 career record against Top 10 opponents and trying to post his third Top 10 win in the past four matches…He’s never beaten three Top 10 foes in the same tournament

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
* Has a career record of 107-73 with his best result three runner-up showings – 2005 Madrid (l. to Nadal in five sets), 2005 Paris (l. to Berdych in five sets) and 2006 Miami (l. to Federer)
* He is looking to become the first player outside the Top 20 to capture an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title since No. 21 David Nalbandian won Paris on Nov. 4, 2007 (d. Nadal).
* The last player over-30 to win an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title was 34-year-old Andre Agassi in Cincinnati in August 2004
* Goran Ivanisevic is the last Croat to capture an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Paris in 1993 (d. Medvedev).

Miscellaneous:
* In 2009, finished in Top 50 for ninth consecutive year at No. 24 with a 32-23 match record, highlighted by his ninth career ATP World Tour title in Lyon (d. Llodra)
* In Grand Slam play, reached quarter-finals at Australian Open and semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2006 and reached a career-high No. 3 on May 1, 2006

NORTH AMERICAN SUCCESS
Roddick is trying to capture his 11th different title in North America in his career. He is 18-13 lifetime in ATP World Tour level finals in North America. By reaching the championship here, he has reached the final in 13 of 14 North American tournaments he’s played in during his career (except Scottsdale), winning 10 of those titles. Following his semi-final win Saturday, he said, “This is really the one big tournament in North America that I haven’t won and I would love to win it.”

Here is a look at how Roddick has performed in North American finals:
 
San Jose: Won 2004-05, 08, Finalist 2010
Memphis: Won 2002, 09, Finalist 2003, 07
Delray Beach: Finalist 2002
Indian Wells: Finalist 2010
Miami: Won 2004
Houston: Won 2001-02, 05; Finalist 2003-04
Atlanta: Won 2001
Indianapolis: Won 2003-04, Finalist 2006
Los Angeles: Finalist 2008
Washington: Won 2001, 05, 07, Finalist 2009
Canada: Won 2003, Finalist 2002, 04
Cincinnati: Won 2003, Finalist 2005
U.S. Open: Won 2003, Finalist 2006

PLAYERS OUTSIDE TOP 20 TO REACH FINAL
Here are the players ranked outside the Top 20 to reach the final here going back to 1990 when the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 format began:
 
2010 - Ivan Ljubicic (26) vs. Andy Roddick
2008 - Mardy Fish (98) lost to Novak Djokovic
2003 - Gustavo Kuerten (24) lost to Lleyton Hewitt
2000 - Alex Corretja (26) def. Thomas Enqvist
1997 - Bohdan Ulihrach (43) lost to Michael Chang
1996 - Paul Haarhuis (68) lost to Michael Chang
1992 - Andrei Chesnokov (36) lost to Michael Chang
1991 - Jim Courier (26) def. Guy Forget