LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Tommy Haas, the 2004 tournament champion, defeated Dominik Hrbaty in straight sets Saturday afternoon to move into the final of the Countrywide Classic.

Haas, going for his third title of the year, came up with a service break in the 11th game of the second set to take a 6-5 lead, then served out to wrap up a 6-2, 7-5 victory.

The win was the 28-year-old German's third in six semifinals this year. His earlier victories came in February at Delray Beach, Fla., and Memphis.

He is the tournament's sixth seed and No. 21 in the ATP rankings. Hrbaty, from Slovakia, was one notch below Haas in both the event's seeding and the world rankings.

Haas served nine aces, seven in the second set, and kept Hrbaty on the run by hitting accurate groundstrokes to the corners.

``I missed a couple of chances to break him early on in the second set, which frustrates you when you know you can maybe close the door,'' Haas said. ``But then I really lifted up my game at 5-all to break him and played a couple of great points. I served good throughout the whole match.''

The victory was Haas' seventh in 11 career matches against Hrbaty, but the Slovak had won the three most recent meetings.

``Today was a good opportunity to avenge myself for the last three losses, and that was on my mind,'' Haas said. ``I told him right after the match, `Finally I got you again.' So it's all good.''

Hrbaty said Haas' game was solid.

``Tommy played really well. He held his serve easy, and he got confidence with his baseline strokes,'' said Hrbaty, also 28. ``He changed his tactics from the last couple of matches we've played a little bit. He was getting good angles.''

Haas, a native of Hamburg who lives in Bradenton, Fla., has won nine titles, but no Grand Slams.

``The way I'm playing right now, if I can maintain that and get into even better shape and get a lot of confidence, I think I'm going to be tough to beat no matter who I play,'' he said. ``And I think that's really a good way for me to go into the U.S. Open, which I really enjoy playing as well. We just have to see.

``I'd just like to give myself the best possible chance to do well and see if I can make my dream come true. If you're 28 or 31, I don't think you think about the age too much as long as you feel healthy and happy to be out there and competing.''

Hrbaty, who also lost in last year's Los Angeles semifinals, to Gilles Muller, hasn't made it to a final since 2004.
© The Canadian Press, 2007