Andy Roddick recovered after losing his temper and the second set in a tiebreaker to reach the second round of the Cincinnati Masters with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 win over the 46th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky on Monday.
With wife and supermodel Brooklyn Decker and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens watching from the stands, Roddick threw his racket to the ground in frustration after blowing a 5-2 lead in the tiebreaker and committing an unforced error on set point against his Ukrainian rival.
The two-time Cincinnati champion gathered himself and raced to 5-0 lead in the deciding set before closing out the match with a forehand winner.
PHOTO: AFP
“I don’t feel perfect, but good enough,” he said. “That third set was actually a blessing in disguise. That’s the best I’ve played in months.”
No. 25 Thomaz Bellucci advanced with a 7-6 (6), 7-5 win over 68th-ranked Benjamin Becker before No. 14 Robby Ginepri, a wild-card entry, wrapped up the tournament’s first day with a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-2 win over 103rd-ranked Somdev Devvarman.
In earlier matches, Taylor Dent rode a decisive serve advantage to a surprisingly easy 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 24 Feliciano Lopez.
“Today, I wasn’t missing many returns, and I was getting a ton of free points on my serve,” said Dent, who earned a second-round matchup with top-seeded Rafael Nadal.
No. 14 Nicolas Almagro became the second seeded player to be eliminated from the tournament when he fell to 26th-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-3.
No. 11 Marin Cilic fell to Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets on Sunday night.
Also advancing on Monday were No. 102 Paul-Henri Mathieu, who rallied to edge 54th-ranked Victor Hanescu 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 6-3, and 47th-ranked Viktor Troicki, who knocked off No. 28 Radek Stepanek 7-5, 6-1. Mathieu was scheduled to meet seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych in the second round yesterday.
No. 10 David Ferrer was pushed to three sets before prevailing over 43rd-ranked Alexandr Dolgopolov 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, while 13th-seeded Jurgen Melzer and 21st-ranked Sam Querry both avoided upsets with 6-1, 6-4 wins, Melzer over No. 62 Santiago Giraldo and Querry over No. 48 Philipp Petzschner.
“I felt great, especially on my serve,” he said. “He gave me a few errors in the first set there, a couple of wind forehands. I’ll take it.”
■MONTREAL CUP
REUTERS, MONTREAL
Former world No.1 Dinara Safina celebrated her return to Stade Uniprix with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Germany’s Andrea Petkovic at the Montreal Cup on Monday and declared herself 100 percent pain-free after a horror run of injuries.
Russian Safina, who left to a standing ovation with the tournament’s crystal trophy two years ago, enjoyed a more humble reception on center court, with a small afternoon crowd greeting her victory with a smattering of applause.
“If I was not 100 percent, there would be no reason to risk because the year is almost finished,” Safina told reporters. “If I wasn’t healthy, I would take time off.”
Injuries have seen Safina’s ranking tumble to 70 after the 24-year-old took top spot last year.
Following a back injury that forced her out of Wimbledon, the Russian snapped a run of six consecutive losses by beating Alona Bondarenko in the first round of San Diego earlier this month, but was bundled out in the next match.
Kim Clijsters stalled her comeback run in the second round of the Cincinnati Open last week.
“It hurts [to be ranked 70th], but it’s more important I’m here, I’m playing and I am healthy,” she said.
The win over the 39th-ranked German on Monday was just her fourth since the Australian Open and none of them have been back-to-back.
Safina expects that to change in Montreal, one of her favorite venues.
“It’s a nice feeling to be back, I’ve played some of the best tennis in my career here,” Safina said. “I hope they will put me a bit more on center court so I can feel the crowd. With their support I will try to do my best.”
A return to form for Safina would provide a welcome boost for the tournament, which has suffered from the withdrawals of the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova, who sustained a heel injury during her loss to Clijsters in the Cincinnati Open final.
After a rain delay, Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi dumped out 14th-seed Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 6-3.
Belgian 13th-seed Yanina Wickmayer eased past Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-3, 7-6, while 16th-seed Aravane Rezai tamed Czech Petra Kvitova 6-7, 7-5, 6-3.
The Taiwanese contingent had a mixed day in doubles play. Hsieh Su-wei and her partner, Alla Kudyravtseva of Russia, went down in two straight sets to Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, both of the Czech Republic, 6-1,6-3.
Meanwhile, Chan Yung-jan and her partner, Zheng Jie of China, handily defeated Canadian pair Heidi El Tabakh and Rebecca Marino 6-2, 6-1.
Additional reporting by Staff Writer
Andy Roddick recovered after losing his temper and the second set in a tiebreaker to reach the second round of the Cincinnati Masters with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 win over the 46th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky on Monday.
With wife and supermodel Brooklyn Decker and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens watching from the stands, Roddick threw his racket to the ground in frustration after blowing a 5-2 lead in the tiebreaker and committing an unforced error on set point against his Ukrainian rival.
The two-time Cincinnati champion gathered himself and raced to 5-0 lead in the deciding set before closing out the match with a forehand winner.
“I don’t feel perfect, but good enough,” he said. “That third set was actually a blessing in disguise. That’s the best I’ve played in months.”
No. 25 Thomaz Bellucci advanced with a 7-6 (6), 7-5 win over 68th-ranked Benjamin Becker before No. 14 Robby Ginepri, a wild-card entry, wrapped up the tournament’s first day with a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-2 win over 103rd-ranked Somdev Devvarman.
In earlier matches, Taylor Dent rode a decisive serve advantage to a surprisingly easy 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 24 Feliciano Lopez.
“Today, I wasn’t missing many returns, and I was getting a ton of free points on my serve,” said Dent, who earned a second-round matchup with top-seeded Rafael Nadal.
No. 14 Nicolas Almagro became the second seeded player to be eliminated from the tournament when he fell to 26th-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-3.
No. 11 Marin Cilic fell to Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets on Sunday night.
Also advancing on Monday were No. 102 Paul-Henri Mathieu, who rallied to edge 54th-ranked Victor Hanescu 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 6-3, and 47th-ranked Viktor Troicki, who knocked off No. 28 Radek Stepanek 7-5, 6-1. Mathieu was scheduled to meet seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych in the second round yesterday.
No. 10 David Ferrer was pushed to three sets before prevailing over 43rd-ranked Alexandr Dolgopolov 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, while 13th-seeded Jurgen Melzer and 21st-ranked Sam Querry both avoided upsets with 6-1, 6-4 wins, Melzer over No. 62 Santiago Giraldo and Querry over No. 48 Philipp Petzschner.
“I felt great, especially on my serve,” he said. “He gave me a few errors in the first set there, a couple of wind forehands. I’ll take it.”
MONTREAL CUP
REUTERS, MONTREAL
Former world No.1 Dinara Safina celebrated her return to Stade Uniprix with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Germany’s Andrea Petkovic at the Montreal Cup on Monday and declared herself 100 percent pain-free after a horror run of injuries.
Russian Safina, who left to a standing ovation with the tournament’s crystal trophy two years ago, enjoyed a more humble reception on center court, with a small afternoon crowd greeting her victory with a smattering of applause.
“If I was not 100 percent, there would be no reason to risk because the year is almost finished,” Safina told reporters. “If I wasn’t healthy, I would take time off.”
Injuries have seen Safina’s ranking tumble to 70 after the 24-year-old took top spot last year.
Following a back injury that forced her out of Wimbledon, the Russian snapped a run of six consecutive losses by beating Alona Bondarenko in the first round of San Diego earlier this month, but was bundled out in the next match.
Kim Clijsters stalled her comeback run in the second round of the Cincinnati Open last week.
“It hurts [to be ranked 70th], but it’s more important I’m here, I’m playing and I am healthy,” she said.
The win over the 39th-ranked German on Monday was just her fourth since the Australian Open and none of them have been back-to-back.
Safina expects that to change in Montreal, one of her favorite venues.
“It’s a nice feeling to be back, I’ve played some of the best tennis in my career here,” Safina said. “I hope they will put me a bit more on center court so I can feel the crowd. With their support I will try to do my best.”
A return to form for Safina would provide a welcome boost for the tournament, which has suffered from the withdrawals of the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova, who sustained a heel injury during her loss to Clijsters in the Cincinnati Open final.
After a rain delay, Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi dumped out 14th-seed Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 6-3.
Belgian 13th-seed Yanina Wickmayer eased past Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-3, 7-6, while 16th-seed Aravane Rezai tamed Czech Petra Kvitova 6-7, 7-5, 6-3.
The Taiwanese contingent had a mixed day in doubles play. Hsieh Su-wei and her partner, Alla Kudyravtseva of Russia, went down in two straight sets to Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, both of the Czech Republic, 6-1,6-3.
Meanwhile, Chan Yung-jan and her partner, Zheng Jie of China, handily defeated Canadian pair Heidi El Tabakh and Rebecca Marino 6-2, 6-1.
Additional reporting by Staff Writer
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