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Maiden entry for Roddick in last 16
Andy Roddick advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time, winning every game he served and beating Tommy Robredo 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 08:48 AM IST
Read Time: 3 min
Wimbledon:
Andy Roddick will play in the second week at Wimbledon for the first time.
The No. 5th seed American won every game he served on Friday and beat Tommy Robredo 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4. Roddick, who has yet to lose a set in three matches, is seeking his first Grand Slam title.
"The first one is always the toughest to get," said Roddick, 20. "The biggest fear is the fear of the unknown - if you haven't done it before, you don't know yet. But I'm starting to believe in myself, and I'm definitely here to try to win this tournament".
Roddick's fourth-round opponent on Monday will be No. 12 Paradorn Srichaphan, who beat promising 17-year-old Spaniard Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
Two-time champion Venus Williams earned a chance to avenge her upset loss at the French Open when she beat Roland Garros semifinalist Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-2. She'll next play Vera Zvonareva, who defeated Williams in the fourth round at Paris.
That was Williams' earliest defeat at a Grand Slam event in two years.
"Definitely the circumstances are a lot different," said Williams, who was slowed by an abdominal strain at Roland Garros. "It was nice for her to have the win at the French Open. Obviously it wasn't nice for me. Even if I had won that match, I don't see where I would have been able to do very much at the French".
Zvonareva, an 18-year-old Russian seeded 16th, advanced by beating Iroda Tulyaganova 6-3, 7-5.
On a cool, gray day that included rain delays, Roddick won three close sets thanks to a serve that topped out at 135 mph. He hit nine aces and 33 service winners, and he faced only one break point.
But it wasn't easy. Robredo, seeded 25, lost serve only twice himself, was the more aggressive player early and kept Roddick off balance with occasional drop shots.
"He played a very smart match tactically," Roddick said. "He didn't let me stay in one spot for too long. He was spot-on with the shots he went for, and that's the best he has served against me. He definitely surprised me".
After Roddick put away an overhead on match point, he gave a cheering Centre Court crowd a thumbs-up sign as he exhaled in relief. He improved to 8-0 this year on grass, all since Brad Gilbert became his coach earlier this month.
Ivo Karlovic, the 6-foot-10 qualifier who upset defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in the opening round, hit 26 aces but lost to 6-foot-5 Max Mirnyi 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Todd Martin lost his final two service games and was beaten by Australian Open runner-up Rainer Schuettler 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (1), 6-1, 7-5. Martin fell to 21-14 in five-set matches.
Schuettler, seeded ninth, will next play No. 8 Sjeng Schalken, who beat lucky loser Victor Hanescu 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (3). American Justin Gimelstob lost to Swede Jonas Bjorkman 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
In women's play, No. 2 Kim Clijsters completed an easy opening week by beating Samantha Reeves 6-1, 6-2. The French Open runner-up has lost seven games in three matches.
No. 5 Lindsay Davenport, the 1999 champion, beat Cara Black 6-2, 6-2. No. 13 Ai Sugiyama defeated No. 22 Nathalie Dechy 6-4, 6-4 and will next play Clijsters. (AP)
Topics mentioned in this article
Tennis
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