Blake to face rested Radek in Los Angeles final

The German had to pull out after his problem flared during a pre- match training session.

"The pain didn't go away," said Kiefer, a 2004 LA finalist. "We tried everything. Of course I'm disappointed not to play.

"But I'm in a good way with my tennis. I can't change things but I'm smart enough now not to try and push it.

"If I'd been told a few weeks ago I'd be in the semis here, I would have taken it."

Bith Kiefer and Stepanek are coming back from long-term injuries, with Kiefer missing a year with a wrist and Stepanek out during the last half of 2006 with a neck problem which affected the nerves in his hand.

Blake reached his third final of the season by beating South Korean Lee Hyung-taik 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

The world number nine, who failed badly during the clay and grass campaigns, credited weeks of conditioning on and off court for his victory in sweltering desert temperatures.

"I felt great today, and that's after two three-set matches this week," he said after a hard-court struggle for one hour, 48 minutes against the 31-year-old Asian.

"It's been my purpose since the clay season to get ready for my favourite surface. I've played my last two matches in the heat, and I'm excited about being in the final."

Blake's win was was his 14th straight in an ATP hard-court semi- final.

Despite numerous missed chances against Lee - he converted only four of 15 break points - the American kept his semi-final record on cement impeccable, with 18 wins and just four defeats.

Blake improved to 3-1 in semi-finals this season as he played in the final four for the first time at Los Angeles.

"No match ever goes according to plan," Blake said after an early break in the first set turned into a struggle that went the distance. "Anything can happen, and there will always be at least some frustration."

Lee this week had finally won a match at the event following a run of five straight first-round defeats since 2001.

But the number 42 was unable to follow up on his giant-killing performance from the quarter-finals, where he defeated third seed Marat Safin.

Blake, who won a title in January in Sydney and lost one the next month in Delray Beach, is trying to recover the form that took him to six trophies in 2006.

"It's a good feeling to start well on the hard courts. I hope I can get things right this summer. I would love to play better in the Masters Series (in Montreal and Cincinnati, Ohio)," he said.

"I've got my chance to do better."

The 27-year-old Blake has won three of four against Stepanek.