Tennis: Top seed Roddick rolls in ATP opener
Posted: 11 February 2009 1610 hrs

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SAN JOSE, California : US top seed Andy Roddick needed only 63 minutes to dispatch Swedish qualifier Michael Ryderstedt 6-0, 7-6 (7/3) in a first-round match at a 600,000-dollar ATP hardcourt tournament.

Defending champion Roddick zipped through the first set in 20 minutes and capitalized on three break chances while denying the Swede's three break chances and closed out the match, taking 88 percent of his first-serve points.

Sixth-ranked Roddick, an Australian Open semi-finalist and runner-up at Doha, seeks his second back-to-back title run at San Jose and fourth crown overall, having won the event in 2004 and 2005 as well as last year.

Australia's Chris Guccione fired 15 aces and broke twice to beat Argentina's Guillermo Canas 7-6 (9/7), 7-5 and reach the round of 16 for a match against Czech fourth seed Radek Stepanek, last year's San Jose runner-up to Roddick.

Latvian Ernests Gulbis saved all three break points against him and took only 85 minutes to beat Brazilian lucky loser Ricardo Mello 7-6 (7/4), 6-4. Gulbis advanced to a second-round match against Roddick.

US fifth seed Mardy Fish won the last two points of the first-set tie-break and broke in the second game of the second set on the way to defeating Aussie veteran Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.

Fish fired his 19th ace of the match on the penultimate point, then held at love to claim victory on his first match-point chance.

Qualifier Todd Widom ousted eighth-seeded fellow American Robbie Ginepri, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 by denying his foe on eight of nine break chances to win after two hours and eight minutes.

- AFP /ls