Andy Roddick beats Jeremy Chardy in the round of 16 – AEGON International 2012
Sixth seed, Andy Roddick of USA, remained on course for winning his first title of the season, as he downed the 58th ranked, Jeremy Chardy, in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(6) in the second round at the AEGON International
in Eastbourne, England on Wednesday. The American needed only one hour and 24 minutes to post victory over the Frenchman.
Roddick and Chardy held their serve in the first three games to take the score to 2-1 in favour of the American. Roddick hit a blow to the Frenchman in the fourth and consolidated on it to take a 4-1 lead. Serving to stay in the
set at 2-5, Chardy committed a couple of unforced errors and lost it 2-6.
The American pounded three aces and 53 percent of the first serves in the opener. The former world number one had an outstanding conversion rate, securing eight of the 10 first and eight of the nine second delivery points. The
right-hander attacked Chardy’s weak second serves, as he grabbed seven of the eight points on them.
Roddick and Chardy served superbly in the second set, as they did not allow each other to break serve even once until the end, squaring off the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. The American raced to a 5-2 lead but Chardy
bounced back to level it at 6-6. Roddick finally succeeded in clinching two consecutive points and sealing it 7-6(6).
The American bombarded four aces on the other side of the court, converting 18 of the 22 first and 10 of the 11 second deliveries into points in the second set.
Roddick said, "It was good, I served well and returned pretty well. He served great on big points, but I stuck through there. I'm comfortable on this surface. I started playing really well in practice when I got here.
He added, "If you ask me the reason, I'd give you a blank stare, because I have no idea how this game works and why it works, why all of a sudden I came out and I played three really good sets so far."
The American is pitted against Italy’s Fabio Fognini for a place in the semi-finals.
Tags: