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Roddick advances at Countrywide Classic
Andy Roddick took a methodical 6-4, 6-4 victory over Rik De Voest of South Africa in Wednesday's second round of the Countrywide Classic.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 10:35 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Los Angeles:
Top-seeded Andy Roddick took a methodical 6-4, 6-4 victory over Rik De Voest of South Africa in Wednesday's second round of the Countrywide Classic. Roddick, with new coach Jimmy Connors watching from the second row in the stands, seemed able to turn his game up a notch when he needed to against De Voest. Down 40-0 in the opening game of the second set, Roddick fought his way back and finally broke De Voest's serve when the South African double-faulted on the final two points. Then serving for the match, Roddick saved five break points before finishing De Voest off with a tapped volley. Asked if Connors' watching made him nervous, Roddick said, "I'm excited, I don't think nervous is the right word. I'm eager to get out there and play because I'm eager to work on stuff." Roddick worked with Connors for several days before playing last week's tournament at Indianapolis, and Roddick made it to the final before losing to James Blake. Still looking for his initial win of the year, the 23-year-old Roddick believes he's making progress. "I'm feeling a lot better about the way I'm hitting the ball," he said after powering a number of hard groundstrokes past De Voest. "I don't think I'm halfway there yet. There's still a long way to go," he added. Meanwhile, third-seeded Fernando Gonzalez also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Marat Safin, and sixth seed Tommy Haas defeated Paul Capdeville 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Paul Goldstein extended his run with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Igor Kunitsyn. Goldstein, who has never made it into the top 50 during his nine-year career on the ATP tour, had ousted second seed Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets the previous night. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
Tennis Andy Roddick
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