RODDICK STUMBLES OUT

Andy Roddick failed to save his grace as he bowed to seventh seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa for 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4. In spite of picking up a mid-point momentum during the match, Roddick could not pull off a win at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.

4th seeded Roddick seemed outpaced, with right hamstring and right ankle injuries. According to the lanky American, he played well enough to win the game but his average serves might have brought him down. However, there seemed too many mistakes from Roddick’s side as he struggled to win the second tie-breaker. Roddick was out of place with 9-8 during the tiebreaker failing to win his first serve and even found his backhand hit the net.

This year has not started well for Roddick. Anderson looked well in form saving 3 match points for the very first time in his career. While speaking at the conference Anderson stated how he deserved to win. The match was a well-fought battle. There were some exciting moments in the game when Roddick tried coming back into the game in the 3rd set.

Anderson now faces top-seed John Isner in the semifinals. This will be a game of two rivals who have met before with the South African winning in their last encounter at the Sony Ericsson Open 2011. Isner came into the semifinals winning an easy 6-3, 6-2 over eighth-seed Bernard Tomic of Australia.

Isner is rated to have an upper hand over Anderson at the tournament for his fine form. During his match with Tomic, Isner won four games at love. Although the game looked easy, Isner seemed making perfect moves from the beginning of the game.