Crowd favorite Andy Roddick had little trouble with Benjamin Becker last night, cruising to a straight set victory (6-3, 6-2) in his first match of the tournament. After an extended break since his defeat to Roger Federer in the Wimbeldon final, Roddick was far from the top of his service game, landing only 58 percent of his firsts and routinely hitting in the one hundred and teens -- though at one point he did hit 145 mph on the radar gun. But his arching, powerful forehand and ability to paint the lines was more than enough for a victory in a tight 55 minutes. Speaking of his first match in four weeks, Roddick said that his "movement felt real good. I felt that I had decent control over spins and placement and good ball control." He acknowledged the large stadium court crowd -- organizers announced a sold-out evening -- who rewarded him with thunderous applause that only grew louder when the emcee acknowledged his performance at Wimbledon last month. more ›

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, the 2007 champion, was the first big name to take the court in the 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, drawing the up-and-coming American Donald Young and dispatching him in straight sets (matches at the Classic are best-of-three sets as opposed to the best-of-five you see in Grand Slam events). Hewitt willed himself early on with a sharp, point-by-point "come on" after braking Young's serve in the first set. Young, kicking off the next game with a successful challenge, immediately broke back, but then missed an easy kill and continued to mishit the ball, eventually dropping the first set 7-5. While Young was able to reach several deuce points in the second set, he was eventually worn down by Hewitt, who won 6-5, 6-2 in just over 90 minutes. The victory pits Hewitt against Israeli Dudi Sela in the next round. more ›

21 minutes. That's how long it took top seeded Andy Roddick to win the first set from unheralded Serbian Viktor Troicki. Roddick's fall from grace, however, lasted a bit longer. Troicki found his game soon after, breaking Roddick's massive serve twice in the second set and continually frustrating the top seed with his off pace ground strokes, taking the final two sets for a 0-6, 6-2, 6-4. win. Roddick seemed confused as to what to do when his forehand was no longer blowing Troicki off the court. His confidence shaken, he started dumping groundstrokes into the net with regularity and became visibly frustrated. more ›