Posts tagged Roddick
Roddick crashes out to Cuevas in Miami
Mar 26th
(CNN) — Reigning champion Andy Roddick suffered a shock defeat in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Saturday losing 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas.
The eighth seed looked out of sorts serving six double faults during the match.
Conversely, 25-year-old Cuevas produced some of his best tennis, serving 15 aces which helped seal victory over a top 10 player for the first time in his career.
Roddick is the second high-profile casualty in the men’s draw after Andy Murray exited the tournament on Friday — the Scot tamely surrendering to Alex Bogomolov Jr 6-1 7-5.
Cuevas will now face France’s Giles Simon who defeated qualifier Rainer Schuettler in straight sets 6-4 6-3.
Roger Federer enjoyed a comfortable 6-3 6-3 win over Radek Stepanek from the Czech Republic.
The straight-sets victory gave the world number three yet another career record as he joined Pete Sampras in seventh place on the all-time wins list with 762 — Jimmy Connors holds the record for most wins with 1,242.
“It’s a funny stat, but it shows how long I have been around already, how much I’ve won, all around the world and all the different surfaces. I’ve played 10, 12 solid seasons, you know. I’ve never missed big chunks of seasons. That’s how you end up with so many wins, I guess,” Federer said afterwards, AFP reported.
Federer will now face Juan Monaco in the next round after the Argentine beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-4.
In the other men’s matches, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga booked his place in the third round by beating Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 to set up a meeting with Alexandr Dolgopolov, who beat Andreas Seppi 6-1 5-3 after the Italian was forced to retire with a sprained ankle.
Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny made light work of the challenge from Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun thrashing him 6-1, 6-0.
Youzhny will now face the Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus in the next round after he inflicted a surprise 6-2 4-6 6-4 defeat on number 22 seed Marcos Baghdatis.
Philipp Petzschner triumphed over his doubles partner and 10th seed Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-4 to set up a meeting with either Janko Tipsarevic or Marin Cilic.
Meanwhile, in the women’s event, Svetlana Kuznetsova crashed out in the third round, going down 6-3 6-1 to Peng Shuai from China.
Wozniacki overcomes brief scare
Shuai took control early on breaking the world number 15 in her opening service game and never really looked back dispatching the Russian for the second time this season in one hour and 16 minutes.
The victory earns Shuai a fourth round date with number 26 seed Alexandra Dulgheru who beat Sweden’s Johanna Larrson 6-2 6-1.
Maria Sharapova also progressed to the fourth round with a comfortable 6-2 6-0 victory over Germany’s Sabine Lisicki.
In the other matches, Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic beat Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm 6-2 6-0, while Jelena Jankovic overcame Klara Zakopalova 7-5 6-1.
Anabel Medina Garrigues defeated Russia’s Elena Vesnina 6-3 6-4 and Australia’s Samantha Stosur also dispatched her third round opponent Lucie Safarova in straight sets 6-0 7-6.
From edition.cnn.com
Tennis-Struggling Roddick exits, Federer advances in Miami
Mar 26th
Defending champion Andy Roddick made a shock early exit from the Sony Ericsson Open on Saturday, suffering a second round loss to Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 6-4 7-6.
The world number eight, who appeared to be struggling physically and had medical treatment during the second set, was broken in the seventh game as 67th-ranked Cuevas took charge.
Roddick battled in a tight second set but looked sluggish and bowed out in the tiebreak with consecutive forehand errors.
The win was the first for Cuevas against a top 10 ranked player and it follows Friday’s upset when Britain’s Andy Murray was defeated by U.S. qualifier Alex Bogomolov.
Third seed Roger Federer enjoyed a routine 6-3 6-3 win over Czech Radek Stepanek earlier on Saturday.
The victory took Federer alongside Pete Sampras with 762 career match wins — the seventh best record in the game’s history. Jimmy Connors tops the list with 1,241 wins.
“It’s a funny stat,” said the Swiss. “But it shows how long I have been around already, how much I’ve won all around the world and on all the different surfaces.”
Federer, seeking his third Miami title, was ruthless, converting all three of his break point chances.
From uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
Tennis: Men’s Top Seeds Progress, Roddick Bows Out
Mar 17th
Roddick argues with the umpire during the match
REUTERS
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer reached the quarter-finals at Indian Wells Wednesday without dropping a set while eighth-seeded Andy Roddick bowed out, reports Reuters.
Djokovic extended his perfect record this season to 15-0 by pounding fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 6-0 6-1 and Spanish world number one Nadal had to work a little harder before seeing off plucky Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman 7-5 6-4.
Second-ranked Federer, seeking a record fourth title at Indian Wells, was tested to the full in a tight opening set by 18-year-old American Ryan Harrison before booking his place in the last eight 7-6 6-3.
“He was making it very hard for me,” 16-times grand slam champion Federer said courtside after playing wildcard Harrison for the first time. “It was a very tricky match. I think he’s going to have a great future.”
However, big-serving American Roddick was eliminated 6-3 7-6 by Frenchman Richard Gasquet who clinched a gripping second set tiebreak 7-5 after his opponent had earlier been warned for racket abuse.
Gasquet will next face Djokovic, Nadal takes on Croat Ivo Karlovic, a 7-6 6-2 winner against Spaniard Albert Montanes, and Federer will play fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, who upset seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 3-6 6-4 6-4.
Although Djokovic needed five match points before sealing victory in 66 minutes, he outclassed his good friend and doubles partner with a superb display of sliced backhands, crunching top-spin forehands and delicate drop shots.
With late afternoon shadows lengthening on the showpiece stadium court, the third seed ended the match with a rasping backhand winner down the line before saluting the crowd by raising both arms skywards.
Djokovic, who claimed his second grand slam crown at the Australian Open in January and his 20th ATP title at last month’s Dubai championships, broke Troicki three times to sweep through the first set.
Nadal, champion here in 2007 and 2009, broke Devvarman twice to win an erratic opening set and the second went with serve until the Spaniard again broke in the decisive 10th game.
Devvarman endeared himself to the crowd watching the action on the showpiece stadium court with his gritty play and occasional winners but Nadal finally sealed victory with a sublime passing shot.
Gasquet, the 18th seed, raced into a 4-1 lead in his tiebreak with Roddick but the American clawed his way back to 5-5 before the Frenchman ended the match with a stunning backhand service return winner down the line.
Roddick, who was warned for racket abuse by chair umpire Fergus Murphy when trailing 1-3 in the second set, applauded the Frenchman’s performance.
Earlier, Spaniard Tommy Robredo and former U.S. Open champion, Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina booked their places in the last eight.
Robredo, despite being hampered by a hamstring strain, crushed American Sam Querrey 6-1 6-3 and Del Potro came from 1-6 down in the second set tiebreak to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 7-6.
From www.thisdaylive.com
Djokovic reaches last eight, Roddick out
Mar 17th
Djokovic reaches last eight, Roddick out
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic extended his perfect record this season to 15-0 by pounding his fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 6-0 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals at Indian Wells on Wednesday.
Although Djokovic needed five match points before sealing victory in 66 minutes, he outclassed his good friend and doubles partner with a superb display of sliced backhands, crunching top-spin forehands and delicate drop shots.
With late afternoon shadows lengthening on the showpiece stadium court, he ended the match with a rasping backhand winner down the line before saluting the crowd by raising both arms skywards.
“I am playing probably the best tennis of my life these last three months,” Djokovic, 23, said courtside. “And it all started with the Davis Cup win (in December’s final) where Viktor was a hero.
“Viktor is one of my best friends, on and off the court, but one of us has to lose. It was tough playing him. He’s somebody I grew up with, was part of my team at the Davis Cup and in juniors.”
Third seed Djokovic will next play Richard Gasquet of France, who upset eighth-seeded American Andy Roddick 6-3 7-6 after clinching a gripping second set tiebreak 7-5.
Gasquet, the 19th seed, raced into a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak but Roddick clawed his way back to 5-5 before the Frenchman ended the match with a sublime backhand service return winner down the line.
“It feels incredible for me to be in the quarterfinals here,” Gasquet said courtside after beating Roddick for just a second time in five meetings.
“I did well with my serve and my backhand, especially on match point. I had nothing to lose and it would have been difficult for me in a third set.”
SECOND SLAM
Djokovic, who claimed his second grand slam crown at the Australian Open in January and his 20th ATP title at last month’s Dubai championships, broke Troicki three times to sweep through the first set.
He again broke his opponent in the fourth and sixth games of the second before the two Serbs treated the stadium crowd to some of the best rallies of the match in a protracted final game.
Earlier, Spaniard Tommy Robredo and former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina also booked their places in the last eight.
Robredo, despite being hampered by a hamstring strain, crushed American Sam Querrey 6-1 6-3 and del Potro came from 1-6 down in the second set tiebreak to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 7-6.
Del Potro, who played just three tournaments last year because of a wrist injury, sealed victory with his 13th ace of the match after the German had netted a forehand on the previous point.
“It is not normal to come back from 6-1 down on tiebreaks but I got lucky and I take my opportunities,” said the Argentine who won his eighth ATP title at last month’s Delray Beach International Championships.
Later on Wednesday, world No 1 Rafa Nadal was scheduled to take on Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman while second-ranked Roger Federer was pitted against American wildcard Ryan Harrison.
From supersport.com
Tennis-Roddick powers into third round, Berdych also through
Mar 13th
Andy Roddick launched his title bid at the Indian Wells ATP tournament with an imposing 6-3 7-5 victory over fellow American James Blake in the second round on Sunday.
The big-serving eighth seed, who lost to Croat Ivan Ljubicic in last year’s final, powered down 13 aces and won 94 percent of his first serve points to wrap up the match in 90 minutes.
Although Roddick trailed 0-3 in the second set, he broke Blake’s erratic serve twice in the next eight games to regain control in dazzling sunshine at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
“It was tough to get a gauge on how I was playing because James was playing so aggressively,” Roddick told reporters after dealing effectively with his U.S. Davis Cup team mate’s lethal forehand.
“He came out from the first game and I realised his strategy was … he didn’t want to let me get into a rhythm. I felt like he was coming out of his shoes.
“It was tough, but the numbers (match statistics) looked good afterwards. I felt like I was hitting the ball okay, so it worked out.”
Blake, a former world number four who has slipped to 158th in the rankings after suffering knee and shoulder problems earlier this year, served up four aces and five double faults.
ISNER MATCH-UP
The 28-year-old Roddick, who claimed his 30th ATP title in Memphis last month, improved his win-loss record this season to 15-2 and will take on compatriot John Isner in the third round.
Isner overpowered Brazil’s Ricardo Mello 6-3 7-6 in the first match of the day on the showpiece stadium court while seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych swept aside Poland’s Lukasz Kubot 6-4 6-1.
“It’s one of those matches where you can play badly and win or you can be in good form and lose,” Roddick said of playing the big-serving Isner in the next round.
“It’s a scary prospect. A lot of it depends on his serve, how many looks you’re going to be able to get at it. You have to make sure you stay tough, take care of your side of the net and hope the opportunities come.”
In other second-round matches, Serb Viktor Troicki, the 16th seed, eased past Australian wildcard Bernard Tomic 6-4 6-4 and 24th seed Michael Llodra of France was a 7-6 6-4 winner against Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo.
Three-times champion and world number two Roger Federer was scheduled to play his first match in the elite ATP Masters 1000 event later on Sunday against Russian Igor Andreev.
From uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
Andy Roddick Indian Wells Interview: Novak Never Says Anything Funny on Twitter
Mar 12th
American Andy Roddick begins a press-packed period with Indian Wells runner-up and Miami champion ranking points to defend the next 30 days. Roddick, who just led the U.S. to a first round Davis Cup win over Chile on the red clay in Santiago, opens play in his ninth straight Indian Wells tournament tomorrow against friend and countryman James Blake.
Roddick has never won Indian Wells. He was a finalist last year to Ivan Ljubicic.
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Quite a transition from Chile? Did you get any sleep at all?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, no, it was fine. On the schedule it probably looks worse than it is. You know, I knew I wasn’t going to play till Saturday or Sunday here. You know, that’s adequate time for me. You know, I feel fine. I don’t think there will be any effects from last weekend.
Q. Can you talk about how big it was for you to get that win for your country?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, it always is — it’s always good. We went down there as a team, and we wanted to get three points however we had to. It was a match that we were expected to win, and we took care of what we needed to do.
Q. Another year, another tournament victory for you already. That’s a proud thing to keep that going, winning an event every year for as many years as you’ve been playing?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, and it makes me feel old. There’s not…
Q. That’s quite a record though, isn’t it?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I think so. You know, I don’t know, what is it? I don’t know if it’s 10 or 11 or what it is. As far as I know, it’s Roger and I with active streaks. You know, I just like winning tennis tournaments, regardless of streaks and whatever else.
It was nice to kind of get back on court in a pretty big event and beat some pretty in-form guys, the guys who had wins on the bookend sides of Memphis each way was good for me, especially coming off of a disappointing match in Australia.
Q. Did you watch your highlight reel shot of match point?
ANDY RODDICK: I saw it.
Q. What do you think?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, obviously I said afterwards it was probably the — especially considering the circumstances, it was probably the best shot I’ve ever hit. When I hit it, I didn’t see it. I had no idea, and there was a two- or three-second pause, and then I heard the place go mental. Raonic was just kind of sitting there looking at me, so it was kind of a relief and joy all at once.
You know, you probably don’t make that one often, but if you put forth the effort to try it enough times it will go through one time.
Q. Was the overhead that Roger hit back in ‘02 in Basel, is that the best shot ever off of your overhead? Is that the best shot that’s ever been hit against you?
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. It’s tough. Obviously that comes to mind, but, you know, I’m not sure. I’m having trouble kind of recalling every shot that’s ever been hit against me right now. (Laughter.)
Q. Could you talk a little bit about your friend, Jim, coming on as Davis Cup captain? His style? What he brought? What’s your feeling there now that you’ve had some time to…
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I certainly — when Patrick wasn’t coming back, I made it no secret to anybody who asked, whether it be the people making the decision, whether it be anybody who was interested in the decision, that my full support was behind Jim. It would certainly be a lot more of an enticing prospect with him on the bench and being able to spend extended amounts of time with a guy who has been No. 1 and won slams.
Certainly there’s few guys in the sport who have those credentials, so I was certainly excited. He’s been so involved from the get-go, you know. I’ve said before I don’t know if there has been four or five days that have gone by without us having a discussion of some sort, you know, and it’s been really impressive how into it he is.
Coming down to Memphis and making sure he saw all of the guys play at least one match. He’s just been really involved. I think, you know, it’s obvious that the right choice was made.
Q. Is it a matter of Xs and Os or just his whole experience? What makes him so good?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, you know, it’s all that. I don’t know — you know, it’s good for me that I don’t have to choose. You know, he’s certainly very smart, very articulate, and understands the game of tennis. You know, there is a select percentage of people who really get all aspects of tennis, and he’s certainly one of them.
Q. Thoughts on the player party last night?
ANDY RODDICK: Oh, I don’t know, man. I think I was passed out by about 8:30 in bed, and not because of the party.
No, it was great. They do a great job with, you know, with fun things. They had the skateboarding bulldog last year and the frisbee dogs this year, so I don’t know. I’m looking forward to see what doggy tricks they have next year.
Q. Where do you think Novak is right now?
ANDY RODDICK: He’s in that room. (Laughter.)
Q. What’s he talking about?
ANDY RODDICK: Right there.
Q. Just talk about his year a little bit. He hasn’t lost a match since London.
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. I think him and Charlie Sheen are just talking about winning, you know. No, really.
Q. Charlie Sheen is still talking. You’ve known him a long time. You’ve played against him.
ANDY RODDICK: Get out of here because they’re asking me a question about you. This is awkward.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Follow me on Twitter.
ANDY RODDICK: You never say anything funny.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: You don’t like my tweets?
Q. Do you think he’s taking a big jump just even this year winning Australia, winning Dubai, winning Davis Cup?
ANDY RODDICK: Sure. Listen, I don’t think it’s ever — you know, I know a lot of times I get in discussions with you, and I think you guys deal in extremes a lot. I don’t think it’s ever as good as it seems. And when he was struggling two years ago and you guys – I read a lot of it – you said he doesn’t belong in the top 10 with the way he’s playing.
I didn’t believe that either. I’m certainly never going to count out Roger, Rafa; I still think Murray is going to win. I feel like I have a shot, given the right conditions and everything.
He’s playing great tennis right now. He’s full of confidence. What he’s done this year so far is a hell of an effort, that’s for sure.
Q. Where are your zest levels for the game at the moment?
ANDY RODDICK: You know, I haven’t really looked inside and tried to come up with an accurate zest level. (Laughter.)
But I have — I still have the weekend.
Q. When did your zest level peak in your career?
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. I don’t even — I’d have to have an accurate definition of the word “zest” to respond.
Q. Enthusiasm.
ANDY RODDICK: No, that’s something that doesn’t really waiver for me. You know, I get a lot of questions a lot of the times, and for me it’s simple: I don’t think I’m going to ever apologize for my career. I think it’s perfectly within the realm of my possibility to play because I love playing, and I really enjoy the in day in and day out, and I like working. I like this whole process. The lows are bad. The highs are great. That will never change.
You know, my kind of general respect and the fact that I realize I live a pretty charmed existence, I don’t know that that ever really waivers.
Q. One of your highs and lows at the same time was your final against Roger at Wimbledon.
ANDY RODDICK: Sure.
Q. After that, a British woman did a sculpture of you. I was wondering, did you get it? Do you have it?
ANDY RODDICK: It’s actually under this table.
Q. Here’s a picture of it.
ANDY RODDICK: Oh, yeah, she’s good enough — I think she does the finalists every year. I actually have one of them in my house. It’s tough to travel with, though. It weighs about a ton.
Q. Is it just an oddball thing, or is it something you really treasure?
ANDY RODDICK: No, it’s great. Anything we have to document our memories is something that I think we as players can certainly appreciate.
Q. She’s done about 10 or 12 of these.
ANDY RODDICK: Why do you feel like you know her?
Q. I interviewed her.
ANDY RODDICK: Okay.
Q. What she doesn’t tell people is she’s running out of money. She does it just gratis just because she loves tennis. Do you have any thought about whether that sculpture-making ought to be part of the Wimbledon experience and maybe somebody else ought to pay for it?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I’m all for other people paying for my stuff, so I certainly feel like me and her, we’re probably like-minded individuals. That’s probably a good start. You know, I think I’m bordering on ignorance as far as the situation that goes. That is certainly something that I’ve enjoyed seeing.
Q. You said you have no regrets in your career. You have a huge voice on Twitter. Do you have any regrets of the things you have to say on Twitter?
ANDY RODDICK: Oh, daily, yeah.
Q. Obviously you had a very good Indian Wells and a great Miami last year, so this month or the next three weeks is going to be important for you. Talk about that.
ANDY RODDICK: I know we get all involved with — you know, you can look at it as I have to play this month for this month last year, but I had a crappy eight months after that, so, you know, you kind of just — it shakes out over the course of the year.
I’m not going to get too high, too low. I’ve never been one who gotten stressed out over defending points. If it goes down in flames, then after 12 or 13, I have the entire year of average results to get it back.
I know I’ve consistently proven that I can get there at the end of the year. I think you look at your body of work over the course of the year, not over the course of three weeks.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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Filed under: Indian Wells
Tags: Andy Roddick
From www.tennis-x.com
Tennis Capsules: Roddick lifts US past Chile to Davis Cup quarters
Mar 6th
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Andy Roddick showed why he’s the go-to guy when the United States needs to close out a Davis Cup tie.
Roddick defeated Paul Capdeville 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-3 Sunday, giving the United States an insurmountable 3-1 lead in its 4-1 victory over Chile in the first-round Davis Cup World Group series.
Roddick improved 12-0 in matches that can clinch a Davis Cup matchup for the U.S. and is 33-11 overall in 24 ties since 2001.
“It’s always sweet, and every time you clinch one you think it’s the sweetest,” Roddick said. “I think it’s also pretty satisfactory when everything is stacked against you — you got the (clay) court, the crowd. It’s a mental grind and you have to try and ignore everything.”
John Isner finished off the 4-1 victory with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5 win over Guillermo Rivera-Aranguiz in the meaningless second reverse singles. It was Isner’s first win in four Davis Cup singles matches. He has two wins in doubles.
The victory was the first for new U.S. Davis Cup captain Jim Courier, who played on the 1992 and 1995 winning Davis Cup squads.
“I like the way all of our guys responded to adversity out there,” he said. “John’s match was a very important match for us as a team to have him go out there and battle through and have him win in singles.”
The U.S. and Chile could have abandoned the dead-rubber fifth match under a new Davis Cup rule because the first reverse singles match went four sets, but Isner and Rivera-Aranguiz elected to play.
“It was important for him to come out of this not just feeling he had a win, but that he played his tennis in that last match,” Courier said. “And the same thing for Andy, in that match today he played a better brand of his tennis against a guy who probably had the best weekend of his career.”
The Americans advanced to the quarterfinals and will play at home in July against Rafael Nadal and Spain, 4-1 winners over Belgium this weekend. Roddick’s hometown of Austin, Texas, is being considered as the host, along with San Antonio and Albany, N.Y.
The U.S. team last played a home series in March 2009, beating Switzerland 4-1 in Birmingham, Ala.
“I think it’s been no secret that I’ve wanted that (to play in Austin), so I certainly appreciate the effort put forward and hopefully we can get it,” Roddick said. “It would be a dream come true to play at home a really cool experience.
“A guy named Rafa coming to town will provide a little bit of energy. It’s as good a second round as I’ve ever seen. Any place will be good, as I’m just happy it will be on U.S. soil.”
In the other first-round World Group series Sunday, defending champion Serbia handled India 4-1, Argentina closed out a 4-1 victory over Romania, Russia salvaged two matches in a 3-2 defeat to Sweden, Germany beat Croatia 3-2 when Philipp Petzschner outlasted Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), France ousted Austria 3-2, and Andrey Golubev and Mikhail Kukushkin lifted Kazakhstan to a 3-2 upset of the Czech Republic.
The No. 165th-ranked Capdeville was behind a break in the first set when he broke serve in the sixth and eighth games to go ahead 5-3 and serve out the set in the ninth game.
The No. 8-ranked Roddick patiently waited for his opportunity to pull away from Capdeville in the second set tiebreaker, taking a 5-0 lead.
“I wanted to make a boxing match out there,” Roddick said of his strategy against Capdeville. “I wanted to take his legs out first and foremost.”
Capdeville had little to give in the third set, and failed to convert two break-point chances while trailing 2-4 in the fourth.
Capdeville saved one match point on his serve in the eighth game, but couldn’t stop Roddick from closing out the match on his serve with a forehand crosscourt winner on his second match point.
“I thought the Chilean team showed a lot of character this weekend,” Roddick said. “They competed very hard. They never gave an inch and made us earn our victory.”
Nadal extends Spain’s lead over Belgium
From www.brownsvilleherald.com
Roddick wins, but U.S., Chile at 1-1 in Davis Cup
Mar 5th
SANTIAGO, Chile — John Isner played another long match. This one ended before he could pull out a win.
The American, who won the longest match in tennis history at Wimbledon last year, lost a five-set marathon to Paul Capdeville on Friday, leaving the United States with a split of its Davis Cup matches against Chile after Andy Roddick took the opener.
More Davis Cup
- Bracket | Past Finals | Champions
The 165th-ranked Capdeville gave Chile a big lift in the first round by rallying to defeat Isner 6-7 (5), 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-4.
“It’s always really difficult to win when you’re two sets behind,” said Capdeville, Chile’s highest-ranked player. “The people were screaming every point and I never felt tired. I always was saying, ‘Come on, Come on, I can do it, I can do it.’
“And I did it.”
Isner served 38 aces to 11 for Capdeville, but the Chilean had the only break in the next-to-last game of the 4-hour, 21-minute match when a tired Isner netted an overhead smash.
Isner won the record-setting match at Wimbledon last year, beating Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set after 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days.
Roddick opened with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Nicolas Massu, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in singles and doubles.
“It was fun to get out there and battle again,” said Roddick, making his first Davis Cup appearance since 2009.
Jim Courier, in his debut as the U.S. Davis Cup captain, was not surprised that the first day ended with a split.
“I’m proud of both of these guys for going to battle out there and it went the way we thought it would today,” said Courier, who helped the U.S. win the Davis Cup in 1992 and 1995. “We don’t control outcomes, we control efforts and both John and Andy gave great efforts today.
“We have to tip our hats to Paul, he hung in there. All week we kept hearing the Chilean team is the underdog, underdog, underdog, but we knew we were going to see this.”
A tired Isner, who said he was beginning to cramp at the end of the match, dumped an overhead smash into the net on his second break point of the ninth game of the fifth set. That put Capdeville in position to serve out the match.
“I didn’t play the big points well,” Isner said. “I made too many mistakes and I just let it get away from me.
“He played better than me so he deserves it.”
Capdeville, who was treated on court for a left thigh problem in the fifth set, had a 15-40 advantage on Isner’s serve in the fifth and seventh games of the fifth set. Isner managed to save his serve on both of those occasions.
Capdeville won one of 11 break-point opportunities, while Isner was unsuccessful on eight break-point chances.
Doubles in the best-of-5 World Group series is Saturday, with top-ranked Bob Bryan and brother Mike facing Jorge Aguilar and Massu. Reverse singles are Sunday — Roddick vs. Capdeville and Isner vs. Massu. The first-round winner plays Belgium or Spain in the quarterfinals.
The U.S. entered the series with the rankings in its favor — Roddick is No. 8 and Isner No. 32. None of the three Chileans is in the top 150.
Elsewhere in the first round of the World Group, four countries took 2-0 lead: Spain (over Belgium), Sweden (over Russia), Argentina (over Romania) and France (over Austria). Tied 1-1 were Serbia-India, Czech Republic-Kazakhstan and Germany-Croatia.
In Charleroi, Belgium, Rafael Nadal returned to top-level tennis with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory over 144th-ranked Ruben Bemelmans. Nadal is coming back from an injury to his left thigh, and this was his first match since his loss in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
“I felt really comfortable with myself and I felt I had the match under control,” the top-ranked Spaniard said. “It is not easy to come back after a while without competition.”
In Novi Dad, Serbia, Davis Cup champion Serbia is missing Novak Djokovic, who is fatigued after winning titles at the Australian Open and Dubai in recent weeks. India is without experienced doubles pair Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi because of injury.
Somdev Devvarman, ranked 629th, downed Janko Tipsarevic 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 (3) to give India a key victory.
At Buenos Aires, Argentina, David Nalbandian and Juan Monaco won for the Argentines, but Nalbandian aggravated a groin injury and strained his lower leg in defeating Adrian Ungur 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
From www.cbssports.com
Roddick withdraws from Delray Beach tour
Feb 21st
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP)
Top-seeded Andy Roddick has withdrawn from this week’s Delray Beach Tennis Championships due to flu-like symptoms.
The eighth-ranked American complained of feeling ill before winning the Memphis title over Milos Raonic 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 on Sunday. It was the 30th career title for Roddick, who struggled to overcome mononucleosis throughout the second half of 2010.
”I woke up yesterday and felt like I got hit by a bus,” Roddick said Monday while coughing throughout a press conference at Delray Beach. ”I woke up this morning and my bed was soaking wet from sweat. It’s just unfortunate timing.
”I honestly don’t feel like I can go out there and give it my best. I need to get better before I can play again.”
The 28-year-old Roddick made his professional debut at the Delray Beach tournament in 2000, playing about 10 minutes away from his boyhood home in Boca Raton. He hasn’t played in the event since 2003.
Roddick’s best result at Delray Beach was reaching the final in 2002.
”I’m very disappointed,” he said. ”I’ve waited too long to come back and play this tournament. But with traveling internationally (for Davis Cup) and Palm Springs and Miami coming up on that, it’s just unfortunate timing for this sickness.”
Roddick is scheduled to lead the U.S. Davis Cup team into the first round against Chile in Santiago next week. He was planning on heading home to Austin, Texas, to see the doctors who treated him while he had mono.
The top four seeds in the Delray Beach tournament were all Americans, with Roddick followed by 2009 champion Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey and John Isner. Qualifier Marinko Matosevic of Australia took Roddick’s spot in the draw and will face Dudi Sela of Israel in the first round.
The third-seeded Querrey moved into the second round with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win over Dustin Brosn of Germany. Querrey, who is also scheduled to head to Chile next week as part of the U.S. Davis Cup team, was concerned about a shoulder problem following his match.
”My shoulder was a little sore so I was lacking some pop on my serve,” he said. ”I was just happy to get through it.”
Florent Serra of France defeated American wildcard Ryan Harrison 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in another first round match.
From msn.foxsports.com
Roddick outlasts Raonic to win in Memphis
Feb 21st
Memphis, TN (Sports Network) – Top-seeded American Andy Roddick downed Canadian Milos Raonic in the final of the $1.227 million Regions Morgan Keegan Championships on Sunday.
It wasn’t easy for the former World No. 1 Roddick, though, as he was taken to all three sets, two of which went the distance. In the end though, Roddick grabbed his 30th career title with a 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (11-13), 7-5 victory.
“Winning tennis tournaments I don’t ever take for granted,” Roddick said. “I’ve won 30 of them now, but I think every one of them is just as exciting. I get just as much joy today as I did my first one.”
Roddick, the 2002 and 2009 winner of this event, fired 20 aces, compared to 32 for Raonic, and won thanks to winning 29 percent of his return points. It was the first time these two met.
The 20-year-old Raonic, who will break into the ATP’s Top 40 next week, was looking for his second straight title. He topped Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in last Sunday’s title match in San Jose.
“It’s tough playing when you’re in a final, you’re playing a top-10 player and you’re not at your best, but all you can do is fight, keep fighting and hope things turn around,” said Raonic.
Roddick claimed $264,000 with the win.
From www.latimes.com
