Andy Roddick bows out to Nicolas Mahut in round one of Roland Garros: Tennis Special
Former world number one, Andy Roddick, was edged out by the local veteran, Nicolas Mahut, in gruelling four sets at the French Open 2012, second of the four Grand Slam events taking place in Paris, France. He suffered a 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 2-6 loss at the hands
of the world number 89 in the opening round on Sunday.
Roddick made a poor start and after losing several serves, he lost the opening two sets. Apart from getting in action in the third set, the American swayed from his path again and ultimately exited from the tournament with disappointment.
"I wasn't playing really well," the American veteran commented in courtside interview after the match. "I moved just horrendously out here. My first step is just so bad on this stuff. I feel like I'm always shuffling or hopping or not stopping or something.
So my footwork on this stuff now is just really bad."
Mahut on the other hand got the better of the American for the first time in their fifth encounter. Both stars battled each other at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon four years ago where Roddick tumbled over the French in straight sets.
The 29-year-old convincingly entered Suzanne Lenglen court and held his opening serve in the second game to level the scored at 1-1. He sought five break chances but squandered them. On the other hand, Roddick failed to block the lone breakpoint he came
across in the fourth game and eventually lost the opener with a 3-6 score line.
Mahut carried his momentum in the second set and earned the coveted break in the third game to take the early lead. Despite losing his serve in the very next game, the French winded up the last four games successively and clicked the set with a 6-3 win.
Currently ranked 33rd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Roddick turned the tides towards his favour in the third set. He swiftly bagged his entire serves without facing any hindrance and got the breakthrough in the fifth game
to pocket the set by winning six games to four.
Roddick carried his spark in the start of the fourth set and earned the critical break in the opening game to take the initial lead. However, he stepped off steam after that and lost the proceeding four games in a row. In spite of keeping his serve in the
sixth game, the American lost the last two games and endured a 2-6 shock.
Summing up the American’s performance, Roddick spilled fewer unforced errors and clobbered a better first serve share of 61 per cent as opposed to the local star’s 54 per cent. He also acceptably availed 41 out of 59 points on it but failed to ward off all
seven breakpoints he faced.
Roddick is currently on a drastic run of form this season. Apart from taking the whole April off, the American started his clay court campaign at the Dusseldorf ATP event last week. He has now fallen to a five match losing streak four of which are on the
clay courts.
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