Andy Roddick began his quest for a third straight Tennis Masters Series title with a hard-fought 6-1, 6-7 (9) 7-5 win over Max Mirnyi in the second round of the Madrid Masters on Wednesday.
Top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain was also extended to three sets in his opener, staving off two match points and coming from 2-5 in the third set to outlast South African veteran Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (4).
Had Ferrero lost, Roddick would have become the new world No. 1 on Monday, according to the ATP.
PHOTO: AFP
Ferrero, supported by a raucous Spanish crowd and Real Madrid soccer stars David Beckham and Roberto Carlos watching from VIP boxes, never trailed in the tiebreaker and won after Ferreira hit a forehand wide and then another forehand long.
The Spaniard, who has topped the ATP Entry Rankings for the past six weeks, saved two match points when behind 15-40 and 3-5 in the third set. Ferreira netted the first, then double-faulted on the second.
Roddick, who lost his opening match in Madrid last year, looked sharp from the beginning, breaking Mirnyi in the first game on his fifth break point.
He broke the Belarussian two more times, wrapping up the set in just 26 minutes on the Rockodromo Arena's fast Greenset surface that suits the American's power game.
"I thought I played a great first set," Roddick said. "I don't know if I could have played a better one."
The second-seeded Roddick, who has one of the most powerful serves in the game, was never broken during the two-hour match.
In the second set, both players held their serve throughout, forcing the tiebreaker at 6-6. Mirnyi staved off two match points -- at 7-6 and 9-8 -- before winning the tiebreaker on his second set point.
"I felt like I was playing better than he was, but then he just snuck out the tiebreaker," Roddick said. "He made a lot of serves in the tiebreaker. I don't think I had an unforced error in the breaker, but I still lost it. That's definitely a credit to him."
Roddick earned the only service break of the decisive set to lead 5-4 after Mirnyi blew two straight volleys. Roddick moved to 40-15 in the next game, missed another match point when his forehand passer sailed wide and finally clinched the match with a second serve that Mirnyi failed to return.
"I was just trying to hang around in the third," Roddick said. "I got an opportunity. You know, I don't think he hit as good of a volley on break point as he would have wanted."
Roddick, the ATP Champions Race leader and second in the Entry Rankings behind Ferrero, captured consecutive Masters Series titles in Montreal and Cincinnati in August before winning his first US Open title.
"Even though I've accomplished a lot of my goals this year, I'm still in the hunt for No. 1," Roddick said. "That's definitely a big motivation for me."
Asked if it would be more important finishing the year No. 1 than winning the US Open this year, Roddick said: "If I had to choose one, give up an Open title, but finish No. 1, I'd probably choose to finish No. 2 with a U.S. Open title."
The 21-year-old American now has won 21 of his last 22 matches. He faces in-form Nicolas Massu of Chile in the third round.
Mirnyi was coming off a semifinal appearance last week in Vienna, Austria, where he lost to eventual champion Roger Federer, and a straight-set win over American James Blake on Tuesday.
Three unseeded Americans joined Roddick in the third round of the US$2.9 million tournament.
Robby Ginepri upset No. 4 Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-2, 6-4; Jan-Michael Gambill beat No. 10 Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands 7-6 (6), 6-2; and Mardy Fish ousted No. 14 seed Tommy Robredo of Spain 7-6 (14), 6-2.
Ginepri, who claimed his first career title in Newport this year, closed out the first center court match of the day with three straight aces.
Schuettler was the highest seed to fall in the tournament so far. The German claimed two consecutive titles on the tour in Tokyo and Lyon, France.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and