Top-seeded Andy Roddick needed just 58 minutes to beat qualifier Matias Boeker 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday in the first round of the US Clay-Court Championships.
Defending champion and third-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany also won, beating Kristof Vliegen of Belgium 6-3, 7-5. Second-seeded Andre Agassi played Michal Tabara of the Czech Republic later on Tuesday night.
”I played well, considering it was for the first time in a tournament match in three weeks,” Roddick said. ”I moved pretty well and sneaked out a couple of points.”
Boeker, playing against a top-10 player for the first time, was shaky at the beginning and had his biggest moment when he won seven of the first eight points of the second set and broke Roddick in the opening game.
Boeker then took a 40-0 lead in the second game before Roddick broke back. Each player held until the eighth game, when Roddick broke on Boeker’s errant backhand.
Roddick ended it quickly in the ninth game with three aces and a service winner.
”I think I was more anxious and nervous at the start,” Boeker said. ”I’d played a couple of sets against Andy and so I knew what to expect. I’m not too used to these situations. I had a chance to give him a match a couple of times in the second set.”
Boeker, ranked 175th by the ATP, thinks the experience of playing Roddick will be a benefit.
”It’s always going to help,” he said. ”You feel more confident when you play in the smaller tournaments.”
Roddick will play Robby Ginepri in the second round.
Haas fell behind 1-3 in the second set, but he broke Vliegen in the fifth game and again in the 11th. He closed it out in the 12th after Vliegen hit three errors.
”He started to go for more shots in the second set,” Haas said. ”He played some good shots. He broke me but I broke back and in the end I hit some pretty good shots to win.” — Sapa-AP