Fifth-seeded American Andy Roddick advanced to the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open with a 7-6(9), 6-2 victory over No. 25 seed Dmitry Tursunov on Sunday at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament in Miami.
After a tight opening set, which saw Roddick prevail 11-9 in a gripping tie-break, the second set was a more straight forward affair for the American as he broke serve twice from four break point opportunities to wrap up his fourth victory over his Russian opponent (4-1 record) in one hour and 49 minutes.
Reflecting on the match, Roddick said: “The wind was gusting, but it wasn't consistent. So it was tough to really commit to any shot. If you play straight with him he's a good ball striker, so I was trying to mix up paces a little bit. I had some success with it and some not so much. But on the bigger points, it helped me out a little bit.
“I felt like maybe he might have been struggling a little bit physically (in the second set). It's like a swamp out there today. You're sweating a ton. I mean, you can wring out your shorts afterwards. So I wanted to be sure to take advantage of that and make the points tough. It just got away from him a little bit in that second (set).”
The victory takes Roddick to a 24-8 tournament record at the Sony Ericsson Open, highlighted by capturing the title in 2004 (d. Coria) and reaching the semi-finals last year (d. No. 1 Federer, l. to eventual champion Davydenko).
The 26-year-old Roddick leads the ATP World Tour with a 25-4 match record in 2009. Under new coach Larry Stefanki, the Austin, Texas resident has won 13 of his past 14 matches and has advanced to the semi-finals in each of his five main draw appearances this year, highlighted by his 27th tour-level title in Memphis (d. Stepanek) and a runner-up finish in Doha (l. to Murray). Last week the former World No. 1 defeated Novak Djokovic to reach the semi-finals (l. to Nadal) of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells.
For a place in the quarter-finals, Roddick will take on ninth-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils, who saved two match points in a thrilling 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(3) victory over Russian No. 22 seed Marat Safin. Monfils rallied from a 2-5 double-break deficit in the third set, and faced two match points at 3-5 15/40 before hitting back to claim victory after two hours and 53 minutes. Monfils takes a 3-2 career lead into the clash with Roddick, though it was the American who won their most recent encounter in the Doha semi-finals.
Although he enjoyed the raucous support he received on Grandstand, last year’s Roland Garros semi-finalist Monfils was not happy with the manner of his win: “It wasn't a good match for me today. I played very badly. I mean, I just survived. I never give up on the court. I had luck because he missed two shots on his match point, but purely tennistically [sic] it was very empty today. Nothing. Maybe I have a good serve sometime.”
Monfils was joined in the fourth round by Taylor Dent, who ousted Spanish No. 15 seed Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-3 to take a giant leap on the comeback trail.
Seventh seed Gilles Simon fought back from a set down to defeat No. 29 seed Rainer Schuettler of Germany 3-6, 6-1, 6-1. The Frenchman, who dropped just three games in defeating former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in his opening match, is through to the Sony Ericsson Open fourth round for the first time in four main draw appearances.
The 24 year old reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open (l. to Nadal) and also advanced to the semifinals in Marseille (l. to Llodra) and Dubai (l. to Djokovic) to compile a 14-8 match record. He goes on to face 10th-seeded compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Simon takes a 1-0 career lead into his fourth round meeting with Tsonga, who converted two of four break points as he saw off American qualifier Robert Kendrick 7-5, 6-4. The 2008 Australian Open finalist (l. to Djokovic) is through to the fourth round in Miami for the first time after losing to Julien Benneteau in the third round of his 2008 main draw debut.
With a match record of 24-4 this season, Tsonga trails only Andy Roddick (25-4) on the ATP World Tour. The 23-year-old Le Mans native captured his third and fourth ATP World Tour titles at Johannesburg (d. Chardy) and Marseille (d. Djokovic in SF; Llodra in F) and has reached the quarter-finals at a further four events – including the Australian Open (l. to Verdasco).
(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/TENNIS/1/EN/NEWS/NEWSARTICLE_2855.ASP)
