Andy Roddick blew a match point in the second set and lost 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) to Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in the Madrid Masters’ second round on Wednesday.
Second-seeded Roddick had match point at 6-5 in the second-set tiebreaker, but he netted a return and the 2,08m Karlovic won it 9-7 on his second set point when Roddick’s return fell wide.
Both players had their chances to break in the deciding set, but they served to another tiebreaker where Karlovic grabbed a 3-1 lead and didn’t look back.
It was Roddick’s first tour match since the United States Open’s first round in August, and Karlovic’s first win over the American after two defeats this year.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Rafael Nadal, third-seeded Nikolay Davydenko and fourth-seeded Guillermo Coria advanced to the third round in straight sets.
Nadal, playing in front of a home crowd for the first time since his French Open win in June, beat Victor Hanescu of Romania 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Nadal rallied from 1-3 in the first set and 0-3 in the tiebreaker at Rockodromo Arena.
In the second set, Nadal broke Hanescu to lead 4-3 and broke again for the match.
”The match was not easy,” said Nadal, who has been sidelined with tendinitis in the knee. ”I was a bit nervous, a bit slow, after three weeks without playing. I’m happy because I think I’ve done well.”
Nadal, who received a first-round bye along with the 15 other seeded players, will next play either Carlos Moya or Tommy Robredo.
Davydenko beat Slovakia’s Karol Beck 6-4, 6-1, and Coria handled Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus 6-3, 6-4 to improve his chances of making the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai next month.
”It was an ugly match, boring for spectators,” said Coria, who is sixth in the Masters Cup standings. ”But the important thing was to win. It was a very important match for me, looking forward toward the Masters.”
Another Argentine, sixth-seeded Mariano Puerta, edged Max Mirnyi of Belarus 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), but countryman Gaston Gaudio, seeded seventh, lost his fifth straight match, hurting his chances of qualifying for the Masters Cup.
Compatriot Jose Acasuso beat Gaudio 7-6 (4), 6-2, racing ahead 3-0 in the second set.
Heading into the tournament, Gaudio was ninth in the standings.
The top eight players qualify, and four have secured berths: Nadal, Roger Federer, Marat Safin and Roddick.
Rochus’s younger brother, Olivier, knocked out 12th-seeded Mario Ancic of Croatia 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
In other matches, eighth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia won his opener 6-3, 7-6 (7) over Alberto Martin of Spain; ninth-seeded Thomas Johansson of Sweden beat Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 7-6 (2), 6-3; number 10 Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic rallied to defeat Tim Henman 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; and number 14 Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia eliminated Tommy Haas of Germany 6-4, 6-2. — Sapa-AP