CINCINNATI -- American Andy Roddick moved to the brink of his third title in four tournaments with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Belarussian Max Mirnyi in the semifinals of the $2.45 million Cincinnati Masters Series on Saturday.

Roddick will face Mardy Fish on Sunday after his friend and former high school colleague ousted eighth-seeded Rainer Schuettler of Germany 7-6, 7-6 in their evening match.

Fish, who is ranked No. 41, will be making his third final appearance of the year and his first at a Masters Series final.

"Playing each other in a final like this is something Andy and I dreamed about since we were living together at 17," Fish told reporters.

"It's going to be great … at least I have nothing to lose."

Roddick, the No. 7 seed who has captured hardcourt crowns at Indianapolis and the Montreal Masters Series in recent weeks, will start as the clear favorite in his seventh final of the season despite the surprising form of 21-year-old Fish.

Against Mirnyi, Roddick was thankful for two lucky net cords in the first set tiebreak. But he was nothing short of majestic in the second set as he recorded his 29th win in 31 matches.

"Mardy and me both got wild cards for this tournament in 2000, so to come back and be in the final three years later is a great coincidence," Roddick said.

Mirnyi's confidence and serve-and-volley approach had put Roddick under immense pressure in the first set, but the 20-year-old remained firm to force a tiebreak.

However, he found himself 5-1 down and facing the prospect of losing a set for the first time in six matches.

One breathtaking crosscourt pass and solid serving brought him back to 5-4, and that was the beginning of the end for the "Beast of Belarus."

An outrageous net cord left Mirnyi stranded to even things up at 5-5 and, on the next point, another Roddick pass hit the tape, forcing Mirnyi to improvise a volley he could not control.

"You like your chances when you are 5-1 up in a tiebreak," Mirnyi said. "I think that first net cord got him back in it."

Roddick broke in the first game of the second set, saved one break point in the sixth, recovered from a fall in the eighth and served out with the minimum of fuss moments later.

The statistics helped underline Roddick's performance, for he had 39 winners and one unforced error in the match, which lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. Moreover, he has lost his serve only once in 47 games.

Roddick has won 19 out of 20 matches in the North American hardcourt season, and victory on Sunday would give him back-to-back Masters Series titles.

While he is searching for his 10th career title, Fish is hoping to break his luck.

He saved one set point in each set against Schuettler as well as six break points in the match -- but those figures do not do justice to the overall strength of Fish's serve.

He has held serve in 57 straight games since conceding the opening set of his first-round match against Mark Philippoussis.

"Everything has just clicked this week," he said.