Andy Roddick prevails over Jamie Baker to reach the second round – Wimbledon Championships 2012
Three-time former finalist, Andy Roddick of USA, finished his overnight match in style, as he downed local player, Jamie Baker, in straight sets 7-6(1), 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England
Club on Wednesday.
Struck with rain delays and bad light, the contest was postponed on its first day, when Roddick led 7-6(1), 3-3 on Tuesday.
The American and Brit served superbly in the first set, as they did not allow each other to break serve throughout the proceedings, taking the scores to 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. Roddick played like a true champion later on,
as he smashed the ball from all corners of the court, dropping only one point and sealing it 7-6(1).
The former world number one, Roddick, hit a blow to Baker in the very first game of the second set and consolidated on it to gain a 2-0 advantage. The 29-year-old did not drop his serve till the end, claiming it 6-4.
The proceedings in the third set were quite similar to the opener, as both players held their serve in the first 10 games to equalise the score at 5-5. However, this one was not taken to a tie-breaker, as Roddick lost just two
points in the next couple of games, capturing it 7-5.
The American is one of the unluckiest players to have played the Wimbledon Championships, as he has lost three times to the Swiss legend, Roger Federer, in the title matches here. The 2004 and 2005 finals were not that close but
the 2009 one was one of the best Grand Slam title matches ever played.
Talking to the reporters after the match, Roddick shared that he loves to win but hates to lose. He said, “The whole reason you play is to try to win something. Winning is fun; losing sucks.”
After losing six matches in a row on the ATP World Tour, Roddick entered the AEGON International on a wild card last week and went on to capture the title. During the weeklong event, Roddick completed his 600 match wins and also
became the second current player after Federer to win at least a single title for 12 straight years.
The American added, “It was kind of ‘Let’s try to get some matches’ and we got a lot of matches. It went from not having won anything to riding out a title pretty convincingly. It was what I needed. Last week was really nice because
you don’t know when they stop coming. You have these little milestones, like 600 wins, which are not possible when you’re young. Those things are nice.”
Roddick is slated to play world number 88, Bjorn Phau of Germany, in the second round.
Tags: