Berdych edges out Odesnik
Originally published on: 26/02/10 13:05
The Czech Republic player cruised through the first set against his American opponent but then dropped the second before battling to a 6-1 6-7 (5/7) 7-5 victory.
In other first-round contests, Israel’s Dudi Sela claimed a 7-6 (7/2) 7-6 (7/4) victory over Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland beat wild card Lars Poerschke of Germany 3-6 6-3 6-2 to set up a clash with Berdych.
Leonardo Mayer of Argentina beat Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-5 6-4 and could face top seed and three-time champion Andy Roddick in round two.
Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin claimed a 6-2 7-5 victory over wild card Ryan Harrison and Taylor Dent beat qualifier Alex Bogomolov Jr 6-4 7-6 (7/2) in an all-American clash.
An exhibition match featuring Pete Sampras saw the former world number one and 14-time major winner fall to a 6-3 7-6 (7/2) loss to world number 11 Fernando Verdasco.
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