Andy Roddick got over an outstanding start by Frenchman Michael Llodra to prevent an upset exit during second-round action at Wimbledon, by coming through at 4-6 6-4 6-1 7-6(2). Roddick secured himself a place in the third round of the Men’s Singles, despite the wobbly start to the match against Llodra.
Roddick, an American who was the runner-up at last year’s tournament, dropped serve to love in game five of the opening set against Llodra, a player who is quite comfortable on grass. Yet the feisty American managed to raise his game and dominated the next two sets.
Llodra collected himself in the fourth set, forcing Roddick into a tiebreak, but the American hurried to 6-2 ahead, claiming a victory when he pounded out a forehand into an empty court.
Roddick is the man, almost
Roddick enjoys huge popularity at Wimbledon after facing off three times in epic final defeats against Roger Federer. Delighted at the prospect of another appearance in a final, or better yet, a grass Gland Slam trophy, Roddick celebrated his win over Llodra by launching a tennis ball into the crowd.
Play by play
Roddick recovered from losing the first set to come out triumphant on Centre Court.
The fifth seeded American, no stranger to the finales at the All England Club, was clearly happy to come up to net in a match that was full of entertaining volleys.
Llodra, as the world number 37, was brilliant in his defence in the fifth game of the opening set, and able to handle a hard smash by Roddick, eventually winning the volley when Roddick returned his precision-served forehand into the net.
Llodra’s passing shot secured him three break points, with the Frenchman pouncing on the first one, outsmarting Roddick in the process with a magnificent sliced backhand.
Roddick showed frustration as there was little way to manage Llodra's serve and volley game, as well as his impressive footplay at the net.
When the second set got under way, Roddick was visibly in trouble. He went on to concede two break points, and was able to divert the calamity when Llondra flinched during one particular exchange at the net.
Llodra did not give up easily
Llodra was very composed until the tenth game, but suddenly was unable to contain himself against Roddick, with the30-year-old hitting the net three times before the American broke his serve.
Llodra is a very successful player in the doubles tournament, and is actually more experienced at the net. In the end, his volleying aided him in setting up a break point in game three of the third set. Having never made it into the third round at the All England Club, Llodra approached Amelie Mauresmo, the 2006 ladies’ singles Wimbledon champion to act as his mentor and coach on the nuances of grasscourt play.
This collaboration proved fruitful, as the French left-hander claimed the Aegon International event last week at Eastbourne, warming up nicely for Wimbledon, although he is now set to pack his bags.
Roddick's monstrous serve dug him out of a deep pit, with the American grabbing his opportunity to break in the fourth, while Llodra became more and more frustrated, making a series of unforced errors.
Roddick’s made an impressive display of athleticism, which was a definite factor in him winning Llodra’s next service game. Roddick continued his unbeatable streak and served it home in set number three. The match was not without seat-clenching rallies that were definite crowd-pleasers. The fourth set was in fact decided by a relatively one-sided tie-break in Roddick’s favour, with the precision of the American swinging him to a mighty win.
Roddick is now set to face Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili, or the 29th seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round.
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