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WASHINGTON -- Over the last five days, John Isner has become the hottest name in American tennis.

Now he gets to face one of the game's biggest stars.

Playing a third set for the fifth straight match, Isner pulled off his most stunning upset yet, a 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-2) victory over Frenchman Gaël Monfils, to advance to the championship match of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. He'll face Andy Roddick, the top-ranked American player in the world, at 3 p.m. this afternoon on ESPN2.

"One win would be special, let alone five," Isner said. "I don't know how I've done it."

Roddick beat another big server, 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5) in the other semifinal.

Both Isner and Monfils came out with their serves blazing. Monfils won his first service game with four straight aces -- clocked at 131, 129, 130 and 127 mph, respectively. He recorded 25 aces on the night, and Isner recorded 23.

In the first set, both players held serve into a tiebreak. Isner lost his serve on the first point by hitting a forehand long. That one miscue was all Monfils needed to eventually win the tiebreak, 7-4.

In the second set, Monfils seemed to have the upper hand at times, as Isner won three points on Monfils' serve in the set. Nonetheless, Isner fired three aces in his last service game to square the set at 6-6. Monfils threw his hands up in exasperation after the last one, drawing a laugh from the crowd.

In the tiebreak, things suddenly turned Isner's way. He won the first point on Monfils' serve and jumped out to a 4-0 lead. He extended his lead to 6-1, then Monfils double-faulted to lose the set.

The two players continued to hold serve in the third set, with Isner showing much more aggression and spirit than he had in the second set. Isner got himself up a break point, 4-3, but couldn't capitalize as Monfils blasted a few serves to rally and take the game.

With the set tied at 5-5, Isner finally cracked. After hitting a forehand into the net to fall behind, 40-15, he fired an ace to rally to 40-30. On the next point, Isner tried to hit a desperate lob over Monfils, but couldn't help sliding out of the way as Monfils smashed the winner by him.

"It was almost over," said Monfils, who pumped his fists to the crowd after winning that game. "I think I put too much pressure on me."

Monfils gave the break back in the next game. He hit a forehand into the net, double-faulted, then rallied to tie it at 30-all but lost the next two points. As the crowd rose to applaud, Isner waved his hands and asked them to get louder.

In the tiebreak, both players won the first point from the other's serve to keep things level. Then with Monfils serving at 3-2, Isner hit a smash to regain the advantage. He won the next point on Monfils' serve as well, then won the last two points on his serve to complete the stunning upset.

Monfils couldn't help applauding along with the rest of the crowd. The two players embraced at center court after a two-hour, 27-minute thriller that was by far the best match of the tournament.

Roddick, the No. 5-ranked player in the world, will bring a powerful serve of his own into today's match. He blasted an ace past Karlovic Saturday that was clocked at 151 mph.

Roddick had 12 aces in his match, but saved his best shot to set up a match point. With Karlovic serving at 5-all in the second-set tiebreaker, Roddick sprinted across the court to reach the Croatian's backhand volley, and curled a backhand winner up the line.

Roddickis 23-3 at this tournament, and has won eight straight matches.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.