Andy Roddick got his clay-court season off to a solid start yesterday, beating Mardy Fish 6-1, 6-4 in an all-American matchup in the second round of the Rome Masters.
Roddick improved his record against his longtime friend to 8-1.
“It’s tough playing against someone you’re friends with, and unfortunately for Mardy I’ve played some good tennis throughout my career against him,” Roddick said.
PHOTO: EPA
In the first round, 14th-seeded Tommy Robredo defeated Juan Ignacio Chela 6-4, 6-1.
Fish outlasted Michael Llodra in three sets on Monday and appeared off his game at the start, losing the first set in 22 minutes with 14 unforced errors. The sixth-seeded Roddick had a first-round bye and came out firing his big serve effectively.
Roddick broke for a 4-3 lead in the second set when Fish missed a routine backhand into the net. Fish missed two more routine baseline shots to give Roddick the win.
It was Roddick’s second match on clay this year after a Davis Cup win over Austria’s Jurgen Melzer in February. Roddick snapped an 11-match losing streak to Roger Federer at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, a month ago, and led the US to a win over France in the Davis Cup quarter-finals a week later. He hadn’t played since.
The top-ranked Federer was scheduled to play later against one of his top rivals, Guillermo Canas, one of the few players with a winning record against Federer, taking three of five meetings.
■ HENIN BATTLES IN BERLIN
AGENCIES, BERLIN
World No. 1 Justine Henin admitted she is using the German Open to recover her flagging form ahead of next month’s French Open after she suffered a heavy defeat by Serena Williams earlier this year.
Henin, 25, has picked up two WTA titles this year, but after bowing out early at the Australian Open in January, she was hammered 6-2, 6-0 at the quarter-finals of the Miami tournament in March by eventual champion Williams.
It was the heaviest defeat for a reigning world No. 1 since Martina Hingis lost to Jelena Dokic by the same score at Wimbledon in 1999.
Henin then withdrew from last month’s Charleston tournament with a knee injury and this is her first tour event back ahead of Roland Garros which starts on May 26.
“I have really needed these last few weeks off to get my form back and to make tennis my priority again,” said Henin, who has a bye into the second round where she will play Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan (詹詠然).
French starlet Tatiana Golovin was a first-round casualty when she was beaten by Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets on Monday.
Late on Monday afternoon, France’s Amelie Mauresmo withdrew from her first-round game yesterday against compatriot Aravane Rezai with an injury to her intercostal muscles.
Former world No. 1 Mauresmo said she is hoping to recover in time to play in Rome next week.
Mauresmo later explained that the problem had been caused by coughing.
“The pain started because of so much coughing that I haven’t been able to take care of since the Fed Cup,” Mauresmo said in comments on her Web site.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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