Jeremy Chardy upsets Andy Roddick in the first round – Western & Southern Open 2012
World number 38, Jeremy Chardy of France, stunned the former top ranked player from USA, Andy Roddick, in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-3 in the opening round of Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Tuesday. The Frenchman needed
one hour and 33 minutes to claim victory over his higher ranked opponent.
Roddick and Chardy served tremendously well in the first set, as they did not allow each other to claim even a single break throughout, levelling the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. The French contender captured four
of the opening five points to attain a 4-1 lead and maintained it till the end to win 7-6(4).
Chardy banged in four aces and did not commit any double fault, hitting 57 percent of the first serves and clinching 20 of the 23 points on them. The 25-year-old gave same level of performance on the second deliveries and returns,
as he secured 11 of the 17 points on both of them. The Liege, Belgium resident could not convert any of the three break opportunities he created but also put away the one he came across in the opener.
First half of the second set was just like the previous one, as both players held their serve in the opening six games and squared off the proceedings at 3-3. Afterwards, it was an all Chardy show, as he grabbed three in a row
to close it 6-3.
The French contender pounded three aces but his first serve percentage was just 41. The 6ft 2in tall converted eight of the nine first and eight of the 13 second deliveries into points in the second set.
Roddick felt pain in his pain during the match and had to take medical treatment. The American said while talking to the reporters after the match, "I just had a little bit of a back issue the other day in practice. I was supposed
to play yesterday and we had a late request to delay it. I felt fine early on, and then I had one lunge forehand and, we have all had it, your back kind of goes out or spasms a little bit. It got progressively worse. He played fine. I don't know if there was
too much of a true reading here today. I think he realised it. He executed the way he had to."
Chardy will take on the world number 33, Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, in the second round.
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