Roddick and Rafa cruise through to third round
Originally published on: 26/02/10 11:53
Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick sealed straight-set wins once more to book their spots in the third round of the Australian Open.
No.7 seed Roddick, a four-time semi-finalist in Melbourne beat Thomaz Bellucci 6-3 6-4 6-4 on Hisense Arena in a match that was the definition of one-way traffic – until match point.
After expressing his annoyance with a line judge who held his ground and forced Roddick to tumble in the first round, the umpire was the source of the American’s frustrations after losing his first match point on a HawkEye challenge.
Bellucci’s volley had been called out but overruled, but when the umpire gave the point to the Brazilian Roddick let him know that he felt he could have played the ball and that the point should have been replayed.
The running argument continued even after Roddick sealed the win on his second match point.
“To be fair, I was more wrong than I thought I was,” he said later. “That being said, it was very close. To take away a match point at that juncture in a match, it’s a big call.
“I don’t do it for entertainment,” added Roddick, who faces Feliciano Lopez in the third round. “I do it because I strongly believe what I feel. That’s not just on the court. I think if I believe in something strongly enough, I’m pretty outspoken about it.”
Defending champion Nadal made light work of Lukas Lacko 6-2 6-2 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena, converting five of his six break points against the 22-year-old Slovakian.
“I played a serious match. I think I played the match I need to play,” said the Spaniard. “I was playing, moving well in the beginning without mistakes, having control of the ball.”
Well, a fairly serious match – Nadal found time to share a joke with the crowd during the third set before going on to wrap up the victory. Either Philipp Kohlschreiber or Wayne Odesnik will face the Spaniard in the in the third round.
No.11 seed Fernando Gonzalez saw off Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan 6-3 6-4 7-5, but Tomas Berdych joined the seeded also-rans after falling to Evgeny Korolev 6-4 6-4 7-5.
Ivan Ljubicic saw off Andrey Golubev 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-3, while Stanislas Wawrinka demolished Igor Kunitsyn 6-3 6-2 6-2.
No.12 seed Gael Monfils, a potential fourth-round opponent for Andy Murray, looked to be in fine form throughout an entertaining 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over Antonio Veic.
But Irishman Louk Sorensen’s Australian Open has run its course following a 6-3 7-6(4) 7-5 loss to John Isner.
The No.33 seed fired 21 aces to down Ireland’s first Grand Slam main-draw match winner in 25 years, paving the way for a comfortable victory.
Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here
