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WASHINGTON: US top seed Andy Roddick fired 18 aces to
defeat Tomas Zib here Tuesday, dispatching the 131st-ranked Czech
6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round of the US$600,000 ATP Washington
Classic.
Roddick broke in the seventh game
of the match and denied Zib on two break points in the 10th game
before firing back-to-back aces to win the first set.
“I was really pleased with my
serve,” Roddick said. “I felt pretty good.”
Roddick broke Zib at love in the
third game and broke again in the fifth on his way to victory in 62
minutes and book a Thursday date with either hometown hero Paul
Goldstein or Czech Radek Stepanek.
“You can’t win a final until
you win the first round. That’s the point of tonight,” Roddick
said. “First round is always a little tricky. It’s a good one to
get through.”
Britain’s Tim Henman made a
humbling first-round exit, becoming the first victim of a
22-year-old American wild card playing only his second ATP match.
John Isner fired 18 aces to beat
Henman 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in a first-round match, booking a
second-round date with German eighth seed Benjamin Becker, who
received a first-round bye.
“To come up short is always
frustrating,” Henman said. “It’s tough when you lose by just a
few points to a guy of that nature.”
Isner only made the field after
sixth-ranked Fernando Gonzalez of Chile pulled out with an injury
after taking a wild card.
“I didn’t think I was going
to be here,” Isner said. “Now that I am I have to make the most
of it,” Isner said.
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