Tennis: Andy Roddick, by beating the unseeded Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 in yesterday's Artois Championship final, bracketed his name alongside John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Lleyton Hewitt in having won the title four times.

The one glaring difference between the American world number five and this trio is that Roddick has never won Wimbledon, and whether he ever will must remain exceedingly doubtful.

The American has so many of the weapons requisite for grass, most notably a fearsome serve, which now has significantly more variety. However, his double-fisted backhand, though improved, is an awkward, often cumbersome shot, and his touch at the net on the volley remains predominantly woeful.

It is as well that Roger Federer came along. Not for Roddick, of course, who has lost two finals and a semi-final at the All England Club against the Swiss, but for the public who are able to see, through Federer's consummate skill, that power and finesse are not mutually exclusive.

Not that Roddick is unaware of his own limitations. "He was continually outplaying me," he said of Mahut. "This was by far the toughest final I have played here. I honestly feel pretty lucky to be in the winner's circle and I hope I can carry that luck over to Wimbledon."

Mahut, ranked number 106, defeated Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion, in the quarter-finals, as well as Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic previously on the same day. This was the first singles final for the 25-year-old Frenchman.

It may well be that in a few years' time people will struggle to remember who was the runner-up for Roddick's fourth title. Yesterday the images of the Frenchman were vivid for all the right reasons, and he may curse himself for missing his one match point at 7-6 in the second-set tie-break.

Roddick had defended stoutly at the net before Mahut was left with the sort of gap on his forehand that he had previously been threading with ease. But his arm tightened as his nerve failed him. Hence his lack of previous finals, contrasted with the fact this was Roddick's 22nd title.

Roddick was patently delighted to have toughed this title out as was his coach, Jimmy Connors, who won this championship three times himself. It may be one of the few chances Roddick gets to have a dig at his mentor. "He's arguably more famous than you", it was said about Connors to Roddick. "There's no argument about it," replied Roddick with a grin.

Now he will hope that when the Wimbledon draw is made on Friday he avoids Federer's half unless, as some believe possible, the world number one fails to recover from his French Open disappointment. ... Guardian Service

• Jelena Jankovic warmed up for Wimbledon with an upset victory over Maria Sharapova in Birmingham. The 22-year-old Serb lifted her fourth WTA tour title of the year after coming from a set down to beat the 2004 Wimbledon champion 4-6 6-3 7-5 and deny her opponent a third Birmingham title in four years.