After a tight tussle for the first set, Andy Roddick swept into the third round of the Australian Open on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday with an imposing 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Russia's Igor Kunitsyn.
The 29-year-old Russian, who reached a career-high ranking of 35 in 2009 but now is struggling to stay in the top hundred, matched Roddick blow for blow through much of the first set and reached two set points at 6-4 in the tie break. A double fault had put Roddick in trouble, but such is the confidence Roddick has in his serve that he shrugged off the inconvenience and came up with a blistering delivery to save the first set point. He then pushed an easy forehand pass down the line to take care of the second.
But Kunitsyn, who is coached by former U.S. Davis Cup player and author Allen Fox during the time he spends in the States, battled on and saved a set point himself with a smash before Roddick forced the Russian into two errors on the forehand to close it out 9-7. After that, Roddick's relentlessly accurate slice backhands, coupled with that intimidating serve, ensured an untroubled passage to victory.
"He played really well to start with," Roddick admitted. "He was very convinced of his game plan — high risk, going for it, not wanting to settle into long rallies. I wasn't comfortable at all. But then I started to get into his pattern a little bit, and he wasn't so quick to pull the trigger. Once I started to push him over to his forehand side, it began to change."
Mardy Fish was diagnosed with a thyroid problem before the tournament, and it all caught up with him on a cool, blustery day on Court 3 when he came up against the resilient Spaniard, Tommy Robredo. Fish swept through the first set 6-1 but then started to lose his concentration and allowed Robredo to begin dictating the match, eventually going down 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
"That is never a good thing to do against Tommy," Fish admitted afterward. "You find yourself running from side to side a lot, and by the fourth set I was feeling pretty tired."
Fish had done remarkably well to fight back from two sets to love down to beat Victor Hanescu in the first round, but he admitted the effort left him feeling pretty sore.
"The thyroid problem is strange," he said. "It sort of zaps you. You don't feel really ill or anything but just a little helpless. It's disappointing because I had put in the hard yards in the offseason and was really looking forward to playing here, especially being seeded higher than I have ever been at a Grand Slam at No. 16. But the doctors tell me this condition will pass and I will just concentrate on getting in shape for San Jose."
Kei Nishikori, the highly talented 21-year-old Japanese player who is based in Florida, started to look like his old self again after nearly a year out through injury when he beat Germany's Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-3, 0-6, 6-3. Nishikori needed elbow surgery in August 2009 but now is being advised by Brad Gilbert — Andre Agassi's former coach — and says that a few little changes in his game already are bearing fruit.
"We talk every day about matches: about things like getting my first service percentage up," Nishikori said. "Everything is going well now."
