Andy Roddick Advances Despite Scare
Andy Roddick survived a scare on Thursday in the second round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships. Roddick, the No. 1 seed at the tournament needed three sets to eliminate Rajeev Ram 6-1, 6-7 (1), 6-3,
Roddick appeared to be rattled after losing the second-set tiebreaker, as he was down two break points in the first game of the third set but managed to salvage the crucial game.
"The first game of the third, I was down a couple of break points," Roddick said. "If he breaks the first game of the third, I think it's a long way back because he started serving a little bit better in the second set. That was probably the pivotal moment in the match."
Roddick, who improved to 33-7 for the year had some difficulty in the second set throwing his racket in frustration. Roddick also had a difficult time in the tiebreaker losing 7-1.
"There's basically two ways to look at a tiebreaker," Roddick said. "You lose one or you win one. It's the same with a match. You lose or you win. It doesn't matter how many games you win. If that was the case, I probably would've won Wimbledon last year."
It was the first time Roddick had dropped a tiebreaker 7-1 since the 2005 U.S. Open in a first-round loss to Gilles Muller.
Aside from Ram, Roddick was also forced to beat another opponent on Thursday, the blistering Georgia heat. Temperatures at the Atlanta Athletic Club were in the mid-30’s with a heat index of 37.
Roddick’s last singles match was last month after losing in the fourth round at Wimbledon. He blamed the heat for a foot injury during the match and was considering asking for a trainer in the third set.
"I don't know if it's a bruise or a nerve," Roddick said. "I was going to get it worked on and treated, but I wasn't sure how it would react. It felt swollen, so I was a little scared of taking the shoe off and having it blow up a little bit. It's something that I've had before. It's manageable. It's something that happens if you haven't been in the heat for a while."
Although Roddick does not believe the injury to his foot is serious, he did have treatment planned before his next match. It didn't appear to hobble his performance in the third set.
"I started sticking my returns a little bit more," he said. "I missed a couple more in the third set, but the ones I made either were winners or were a little more aggressive. It was a little bit more on my terms, and I think what probably switched the match around for me."
Roddick is trying to win his third title this year and if he does it would also mark his 20th career hardcourt title. However, to get there he first must get past his next opponent, No. 7 seed Xavier Malisse of Belgium. Malisse defeated Ukraine's Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the quarter-final matchup against Roddick.
Back in 2001, Roddick earned his first career victory against Malisse at the same venue in Atlanta. Ironically, before the tournament returned this year, it was the last time the Atlanta Championships were held.
Roddick is currently the highest-ranking American on the ATP tour ranked at No. 9. However, he currently leads all players with 27 hardcourt wins for a 27-4 match record on hardcourts this year.
Roddick and Malisse will be playing during the night session on Friday followed by No. 6 seed Mardy Fish against Taylor Dent. In the early matches, John Isner will play Michael Russell and Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko will face Kevin Anderson.
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