Andy Roddick`s preparations for the US Open suffered a jolt when the ninth-ranked American suffered a lop-sided 6-3, 6-3 defeat to Frenchman Gilles Simon in the third round of the Washington Classic on Thursday.
|Last Updated: Aug 06, 2010, 03:01 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Washington: Andy Roddick`s preparations for the US Open suffered a jolt when the ninth-ranked American suffered a lop-sided 6-3, 6-3 defeat to Frenchman Gilles Simon in the third round of the Washington Classic on Thursday.
The second-seeded Roddick struggled to maintain any consistency, landing only 55 percent of his first serves and was out-aced by the Frenchman 7-3 during the 69-minute match."It was just a bad night. I really don`t have much of a defence for it," a frustrated Roddick softly told reporters. "I really don`t feel you can defend it."
"I didn`t feel right physically, I didn`t feel right mentally. It was just a pretty bad effort."
In other matches, top seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, playing in his first tournament since losing to Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon final, overcame a second-set wobble to edge Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.
Also advancing to the quarter-finals of the $1.2 million hardcourt tournament were third seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain and fourth seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia.
The 27-year-old Roddick, a three-times Washington champion, said he has felt sluggish over the last few weeks, admitting "something is just not right".
"I`m a little concerned about that," Roddick said. "Feeling lethargic and not all there energy-wise, that`s not fun for me. I don`t enjoy nights like tonight."
"It could be something simple, maybe a vitamin deficiency. I promise you I`m going to figure this out before I do that again. That`s not what I built my reputation around."Simon, ranked 33rd and seeded 13th, made the most of his chances, converting three of five break-point opportunities against Roddick while never losing his own serve.
The Frenchman broke Roddick in the second game of the final set to take a 2-0 lead and served out the contest.
"I managed to return his serve today," said Simon, who had failed to win a set against Roddick in their prior two meetings. "When he decided to wait (and play from the baseline), I was more consistent than him."
"And when he decided to attack and be more aggressive, he made some mistakes."
Roddick, playing in just he second tournament since Wimbledon, refused to blame his performance on his light schedule.
"There is a reason that I haven`t been playing a lot," he said. "It`s because I`ve been playing like crap. I felt I didn`t do one thing right tonight."
"I honestly don`t think it would have mattered who I played."
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.