- Writer: AFP
- Published: 6/08/2009 at 09:00 AM
US top seed Andy Roddick made a triumphant return in his first match since a heartbreaking Wimbledon final loss, defeating Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-2 at the ATP Washington Classic.
US top seed Andy Roddick, seen here, made a triumphant return in his first match since a heartbreaking Wimbledon final loss, defeating Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-2 at the ATP Washington Classic
Fifth-ranked Roddick fired eight aces and overpowered his 47th-ranked rival in 55 minutes to reach a third-round match against either countryman Sam Querrey or Russia's Igor Kunitsyn at the 1.4 million-dollar hardcourt event.
Swiss superstar Roger Federer outlasted Roddick in a five-set thriller at the All-England Club last month to claim his record 15th Grand Slam title, but not before Roddick pushed him through the longest fifth set in Slam history.
Roddick, a three-time champion at Washington, broke Becker in the second game of the match and lost only three points on his serve in the opening set, which he ended with his fifth ace.
Roddick, whose only Grand Slam title came at the 2003 US Open, broke Becker at love in the fifth game of the second set and cruised home from there.
Former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero ousted Spanish Davis Cup teammate and seventh seed Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-2.
Ferrero, who snapped a five-year win drought in April at Casablanca and won the deciding match in Spain's Davis Cup quarter-final tie against Germany last month, advanced with ease to face German Tommy Haas for a quarter-final spot.
"I was a little bit surprised. I expected a tougher match," Ferrero said. "I was hitting the ball well. I put a lot of pressure on his backhand and he was making some mistakes. I pushed and pushed him all the way."
Ferrero, the 2003 French Open champion, lost to Russian Nikolay Davydenko in a clay final at Umag, Croatia. While playing well, Ferrero expects Rafael Nadal and others to lead the Spanish Davis Cup side in the semi-finals.
"It's going to be tough but there have been a few times I've had a chance to make a great result," Ferrero said. "I will have to keep playing at this same level."
Croatia's big-serving Ivo Karlovic fired 18 aces to defeat Germany's Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 7-5 and book a third-round match against India qualifier Somdev Devvarman, who upset Croatian sixth seed Marin Cilic in the second round.
"If Ivo is serving well, it's hard to even get a look," Devvarman said.
Devvarman downed lanky Karlovic in January at Chennai in a run to the final in his hometown but lost the championship match to Cilic.
"He's extremely fast," Karlovic said of Devvarman. "In India, it was the first week of the year so I was not into it. Now it will be a different match and hopefully I will win."
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