RODDICK TAKES ON DARCIS

Andy Roddick has been defeated by Steve Darcis of Belgium in the third round of the Winston Salem Open. Darcis won the match in the straight sets by 7-6(6), 7-6(3). Roddick, who has been given 5^th seed in this competition, made Darcis work hard for each and every point. But, the Belgian player held his nerves in both the tie breakers and stopped Roddick from going further into the tournament. Roddick was very good on his service and smashed 8 aces in the match. But, He didn’t manage to play the return shots well.

Both the players played well in the first set. There was no breakthrough in the first 12 games and the scores were tied at 6-6. The set went into the tie breaker in which the Belgian player proved to be a bit better than Roddick. The story of the second set is not different from the first one. Both the players held their entire serves in the second set as well. Roddick had got a breakpoint in the second set, but, he wasn’t able to capitalize on that. Roddick failed to deliver in the tie breaker again and allowed Darcis to run away with the game.

In the post match interview, Roddick said that he is satisfied with the way he served in the match, but, he didn’t play his backhand shots well which proved to be costly. On the other hand, Darcis, who secured a berth in the quarterfinals with this victory, was delighted after defeating Roddick. Darcis said that he tried to play with aggression right from the start and that paid off. In the quarter final, Darcis will play against Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic who cruised into the quarterfinals with an easy victory over Jarkko Nieminen.