NEW YORK, April 14: Top seeded American Andy Roddick moved on to the second round of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships with a 6-1 7-5 win over Denmark's Kenneth Carlsen in Houston on Tuesday.
Roddick's victory was his ninth straight and 29th of the season but after cruising through the opening set, he needed to break Carlsen in the 11th game of the second before finally closing out the match.
The two-time tournament champion won 73 percent of his first serve points and hit seven aces during the match. In the day's big upset, unseeded American Alex Bogomolov stunned second seeded compatriot Mardy Fish 6-3 6-1.
Seventh seed Jurgen Melzer was the only other ranked player in action on Tuesday, and the Austrian wasted little time easing into the second round with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Argentina's Diego Veronelli.
Results
Second round: Vera Zvonereva (Russia) bt Severine Beltrame (France) 6-4 6-0; Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Kelly McCain (U.S.) 6-1 6-0; Venus Williams (U.S.) bt Samantha Reeves (U.S.) 4-6 6-4 6-3; Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian (Switzerland) bt Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spain) 6-3 7-6 (7-0).
First round: Jelena Dokic (Serbia & Montenegro) bt Tatiana Panova (Russia) 6-0 5-7 7-5; Jelena Jankovic (Serbia & Montenegro) bt Jill Craybas (U.S.) 6-4 3-6 6-3; Kristina Brandi (Puerto Rico) bt Claudine Schaul (Luxembourg) 3-6 6-3 7-5; Nicole Pratt (Australia) bt Alexandra Stevenson (U.S.) 6-4 7-6 (7-3); Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi (Israel) bt Yuka Yoshida (Japan) 6-1 6-1; Petra Mandula (Hungary) bt Ashley Harkleroad (U.S.) 6-3 6-1; Akiko Morigami (Japan) bt Mary Pierce (France) 6-2 6-3; Paola Suarez (Argentina) bt Anne Kremer (Luxembourg) 6-4 6-4; Amy Frazier (U.S.) bt Martina Navratilova (U.S.) 6-4 6-4; Lina Krasnoroutskaya (Russia) bt Anca Barna (Germany) 6-1 7-5; Catalina Castano (Colombia) bt Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) 5-7 6-4 6-2; Alina Jidkova (Russia) bt Shinobu Asagoe (Japan) 6-4 6-1
Schuettler falls
LISBON: German top seed Rainer Schuettler lost 7-6 6-7 6-3 to Romania's Victor Hanescu in a gruelling first round match at the Estoril Open on Tuesday. Schuettler, who has won just twice on the ATP tour this season, lost the first set despite holding a 5-4 lead with serve.
Although he came back to level the match, Hanescu finished more strongly to clinch victory in two hours 43 minutes. There were two further upsets on the second day of the claycourt tournament, with the Argentines Agustin Calleri and Gaston Gaudio, seeded third and seventh, beaten by Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic and Florian Mayer respectively.
Marat Safin looked in danger of following them but the Russian number eight seed recovered from an uncertain start to beat Frenchman Cyril Saulnier 5-7 6-2 6-2. Safin wasted an early break and lost his serve in the final game of the first set to fall behind but he quickly discovered his rhythm to clinch victory in two hours three minutes.
Schuettler was frustrated at another first-round defeat after making a solid enough start against Hanescu but he said he was confident his form would improve. In the women's event, top seeded Russian Elena Bovina made a smart return from injury to beat Iva Majoli of Croatia 6-4 6-2 and claim her place in the second round.
There was one upset among the women on the second day of the tournament, with eighth seed Marion Bartoli of France losing 6-3 6-3 to Italy's Maria Elena Camerin.
Mens: Marat Safin (Rus) bt Cyril Saulnier (Fra) 5-7 6-2 6-2; Mariano Zabaleta (Arg) bt Vasilis Mazarakis (Gre) 3-6 6-1 6-2; Florian Mayer (All) bt Gaston Gaudio (Arg) 6-3 6-4; Irakli Labadze (Georgia) bt Attila Savolt (Hon) 4-6 6-4 7-5
Womens: Elena Bovina (Rus) bt Iva Majoli (Cro) 6-4 6-2; Neuza Silva (Por) bt Julia Schruff (All) 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (10-8); Emilie Loit (Fra) bt Els Callens (Bel) 6-2 6-2; Iveta Benesova (Tch) bt Natalia Gussoni (Arg) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3; Barbara Schett (Aut) bt Maret Ani (Est) 6-1 6-7 (8-10) 6-4; Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) bt Rita Grande (Ita) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3; 7-5; Denise Chladkova (Tch) bt Yulia Beygelzimer (Ukr) 6-3 6-2; Anna-Lena Groenfeld (All) bt Lubomira Kurhajcova (Slq) 6-1 6-2; Maria Elena Camerin (Ita) bt Marion Bartoli (Fra) 6-3 6-3; Marta Marrero (Esp) bt Virag Nemeth (Hon) 6-1 6-2. -Agencies