Skip navigation
Listen now:
NBC Sports: The Dan Schwartzman Show

Tennis

ATP scores | WTA scores |  Video |  ATP schedule  |  WTA schedule   | ATP rankings  |  WTA rankings  |  Tickets

Roddick finally
wins Scottsdale opener

Star was 2 points short
of win when match postponed

RODDICKTom Hood / AP
Andy Roddick serves during his match against John Van Lottum on Tuesday.
updated 4:39 p.m. ET March 4, 2004

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - After two days, two rain delays and a temper tantrum, Andy Roddick finally won his first match in the Franklin Templeton Tennis Classic.

The U.S. Open champion needed just two serves Wednesday to wrap up a 6-3, 7-5 victory over John Van Lottum in a match that started the night before but was suspended by rain. When play was halted, Roddick led 6-3, 6-5 and was serving at 30-30.

“I wanted to make sure it was like that,” Roddick said. “It was a very tricky situation. I wasn’t up 30-love. If you double-fault, you’re automatically down break point where you’re fighting for your life. So it was definitely a different dynamic than I’ve ever been part of in a tennis match.”

Trailing 2-0 in the second set Tuesday, Roddick was angered by a call by chair umpire Enric Molina. Roddick broke his racket and was penalized a point.

Shortly after, the match was delayed 44 minutes by rain. Roddick said he got a chance to regain his composure.

Roddick’s Davis Cup teammate, third-seeded Robby Ginepri, had to fight off two match points to beat Wesley Moodie 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 to reach his first quarterfinal of the season.

Also Wednesday, fourth-seeded Vincent Spadea beat Wayne Arthurs 6-3, 6-2, sixth-seeded James Blake topped Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-2, No. 7 Nicolas Kiefer stopped Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-4, and Robin Soderling eliminated Xavier Malisse 6-3, 7-6 (3).

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement
More news
The Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2013 - Day Two
Clive Brunskill / Getty Images
Venus pulls out of Wimbledon

After 16 consecutive years of always showing up at Wimbledon, winning five titles along the way, Venus Williams pulled out of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament Tuesday, citing a lower back injury.

Slideshow
Image: TENNIS-AUS-OPEN
  Scenes from Down Under
Check out the best images from the 2013 Australian Open.

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
Image: The Championships - Wimbledon 2012: Day Thirteen
  The best of Wimbledon
The best images from the Grand Slam tournament at the All-England Club.

NBC Sports

Video
  French Open 2012: Top 10 Shots
June 10, 2012: John McEnroe, Ted Robinson, and Mary Carillo look back at the Top Ten best moments from the 2012 French Open.
‘