Andy Roddick got ridiculed on his own birthday, and after an emotional win no less. It sure soured the celebration.
Roddick advanced to the third round of the US Open with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (8) victory over Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia on a night when fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium hung banners wishing him the best on the eve of his 21st birthday and cheered him wildly.
PHOTO: AFP
Roddick wouldn't finish until his big day had already arrived, nine minutes after midnight Saturday morning to be exact. Ljubicic put a damper on the festivities minutes later and angered the popular American with his critical comments regarding the world's fourth-ranked player.
PHOTO: AFP
"Anywhere in the world, except in the United States, if we played this match, I would have won it," Ljubicic said. "I mean, generally, I don't like him. I mean, not me -- nobody in the locker room likes his acting on the court. I mean, he's a good player. He's going to win a lot of matches, but not because he's like that.
``It's just that we don't like it. Because nobody acts like that. He's the only one. He doesn't respect the others. That's all I can say."
PHOTO: REUTERS
Roddick, known for his on-court exuberance, couldn't believe Ljubicic would come out with such harsh words to the media without confronting him privately first. Roddick didn't rule out the possibility he would discuss the situation with his opponent and potentially apologize -- even if he doesn't agree with Ljubicic.
"I think that's pretty much sour grapes," Roddick said. "You know, that doesn't deserve a response. I don't think that's very respectful. I don't have anything bad to say about him. So, that's disappointing ... I try to treat everyone with respect. I'm not mean to people ... He wished me `Happy Birthday' walking down the hall just now. I was thinking `That's pretty classy.'"
Roddick is one of a cast of young American men to reach the third round at the season's final Slam. Davis Cup player James Blake also advanced Friday, while Taylor Dent and Robby Ginepri are in the round of 32.
Ljubicic thought the umpire blew a call on the final of four set points he wasted in the fourth-set tiebreaker. Roddick hit a runaround forehand that laced the line. Ljubicic thought it was out, put his hands on his head and dropped to his knees in exasperation.
"That was the crucial point, obviously. I am expecting some bad calls. But, you know, it hurts when it happens in the crucial moment like that," Ljubicic said, adding that he thought a linesman's ruling could be affected by hearing Roddick yell, "Yes!" after hitting a shot.
All match, Roddick hammered away from 3m behind the baseline, sometimes standing so far back he nearly nudged either the wall or the officials.
He got beat by the occasional drop shot, but for the most part the strategy worked.
Both men pounded 22 aces. After falling behind 0-40 in his final service game of the first set, Roddick hit four serves topping 209kph to win the set.
Yet it was the wild tiebreaker in the last set that defined this one.
Ljubicic double-faulted with a 5-2 lead and Roddick rallied back to tie it at 6 before pulling out the win.
He received a chocolate cake courtside after the match and the crowd sang to him as he raised his rackets in the air to encourage them.
Also Friday, Wimbledon champion Roger Federer of Switzerland defeated Frenchman Jean-Rene Lisnard 6-1, 6-2, 6-0. Federer will now play Blake, a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) winner over Sargis Sargsian.
Australian Mark Philippoussis, a finalist at the 1998 Open, beat France's Anthony Dupuis 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. No. 13 David Nalbandian of Argentina topped Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (3).
Clijsters, 1998 Open champion Lindsay Davenport, No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo of France and French Open semifinalist Nadia Petrova of Russia won in straight sets. Davenport faces Petrova for a quarterfinal berth.
Meghann Shaughnessy's latest victory in the US Open may have been bigger for her psyche than the boost she got beating Venus Williams in the fourth round of the French Open.
At times this year, Shaughnessy has struggled to stay focused on her tennis. There have been plenty of days when she had no desire to play. After winning her third-round match against 13th-seeded Vera Zvonareva on Friday, the 24-year-old American made it clear she's feeling it again.
"I think everybody goes through times when they lose a little bit of motivation or whatever," Shaughnessy said. "I mean, there have been times out there that I've just lacked a little bit of confidence and will to be out on the court, and I feel like I'm getting that again."
Zvonareva, ranked 14th, beat the 24-year-old Shaughnessy in three sets in the fourth round at Indian Wells in March, the only previous meeting between the two players.
This time, the No. 17-seeded Shaughnessy rallied from a set down to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Coetzer's plan
At 31, Amanda Coetzer is surrounded by players leaving tennis. She is not interested in joining them. In a week at the US Open when Pete Sampras, Michael Chang and Jeff Tarango all have announced their retirements, the 14th-seeded Coetzer lost decisively but is sticking around.
Coetzer was dominated by 19th-seeded Nadia Petrova, 6-0, 6-1 in the third round of the Open on Friday. It did not deter her.
"I have a strong desire to continue," Coetzer said. "How long, I can't say. Once you're past your 30s and you're asked the question, it does cross your mind."
Hello again
Ten years ago, when Sargis Sargsian came to the US from Armenia, he found himself in Connecticut, playing weekend tournaments against local players. James Blake was hanging around the courts.
"James was a kid," Sargsian said. "I remember watching him play. A couple times, we just hit, kind of doing him a favor."
Sargsian went on to Arizona State, where he became the US college champion in 1995. Blake took his game to Harvard where he became an All-American. The two met again at Wimbledon this summer and Sargsian won 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-2. Things changed when they had another reunion Friday at the US Open. This time, Blake prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6).
What changed?
"Well, two things," Sargsian said. "It's a different surface. It's a little faster. I'm not sure, but I don't think James likes when it's really too fast. The other thing, I was probably playing the best tennis of my career in Wimbledon."
Happy birthday
The National Tennis Center marked its 25th birthday on Friday.
The gates opened for the first time in the new facility on Aug. 29, 1978, with Bjorn Borg winning the best-of-three set first match 6-0, 6-2 against Bob Hewitt.
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