Results tagged “leggmason”

          

Written by DCist contributor Joe Parilla

              

In his fourth match of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a semifinal contest against fellow American John Isner, #1 Andy Roddick was tested early and often, losing the his first set of the tournament and struggling to convert on break points. But finally, on serve at 5-5 in the third and decisive set, Roddick solved the powerful 6' 9" Isner (the last unseeded player standing) to earn a break, following up with a solid service game to close out the match 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 before an appreciative capacity crowd at the Fitzgerald Tennis Center. When painted into corners, Roddick was often brilliant on the move, making risky shots just out of Isner's reach for forehand winners.

             

You go into a match with Ivo Karlovic assuming you're not going to break his serve. Or, in the words of Andy Roddick, "getting down an early break against Karlovic is a recipe for disaster." Fortunately for Roddick, he had never before dropped a service game to the Croat, a point raised he raised last evening in anticipation of the match and worried would jinx him today.

              

Andy Roddick earned his 500th career win yesterday evening, defeating fellow American Sam Querrey in Rock Creek Park. The milestone puts him in an elite rank of only four active players that includes Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, and Carlos Moya. The win puts him in today's quarterfinal round.

              

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.

Things heat up in Rock Creek Park this evening as the man many local tennis fans have been waiting for, Andy Roddick, finally takes the court at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Roddick, in his first action since Wimbledon, will face Benjamin (no relation to Boris) Becker no earlier than 7 p.m., after Becker outlasted American Robby Ginepri last night in a closely contested match featuring multiple tiebreakers. Roddick was originally scheduled to play last night. But after Becker reached the doubles final at the L.A. Tennis Open last Sunday, his opening match versus Ginepri got pushed back to yesterday -- hence delaying the match against Roddick by one day. Understanding the disappointment for fans that purchased Tuesday tickets expecting to see him, Roddick has set aside 150 free tickets for fans holding stubs from yesterday. The tickets can be picked up on a first come, first served basis from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lacoste store in Georgetown. In other Tuesday results: Juan Martin del Porto, Tommy Haas, and Juan Carlos Ferrero all needed a full three sets to advance last night, and a qualifier, Somdev Devarrman, was the first to pick off a seeded player, taking down Croat Marin Cilic in straight sets. Other highlights of tonight's action include Lleyton Hewitt battling Dudi Sela in an intimate grandstand match and American John Isner against the tournament's number 3 seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

             

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.

Washington tennis fans have just barely had time to digest the Washington Kastles' triumphant World Team Tennis championship. But on the heels of their dramatic victory, it's time once again for a longer-standing rite of D.C. summers: the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

              

With Andy Roddick's unexpected early departure, much of the star power of this year's Legg Mason Classic went with him. At the semifinal matches on Saturday, fans had the chance to watch one of the two remaining seeded players eliminate the other, followed by a match between two relative unknowns.

The top seed at the Legg Mason Classic, the fast-hitting Andy Roddick, has not exactly coasted on his way to defend his championship this year. In his second-round match last night, he dropped the first set to Argentina's Eduardo Schwank, 4-6. Roddick won the second set, but Schwank pressed Roddick into a tie-breaker for the match, which Roddick won without too much trouble.

             

Washington's most important tennis event, the Legg Mason Classic, got under way this week. Most of the major names in men's tennis are in Beijing this month, but ninth-ranked Andy Roddick, skipping the Olympics to be ready for the U.S. Open, decided to come back to the FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park to defend his title. Roddick is favored to win a second consecutive Legg Mason title, but he was happy to survive the first round, when all but three of the eight seeded players were upset. That included the former world no. 1 player Marat Safin, whom some put in the running to challenge Roddick. Safin resigned his first match after pulling a muscle in his neck.