Rome, May 05: Guillermo Canas rocks Andy Roddick out of the Rome Masters tennis tournament. The fall of the favourites in the Rome Masters continued on Tuesday (May 4) when big-hitting number two seed Andy Roddick lost to claycourt specialist Guillermo Canas. The U.S. Open champion mixed moments of brilliance with sloppy shots to exit 7-6 6-1 in the first round and follow third seed Rainer Schuettler, who lost to Vincent Spadea on Monday (May 3). American Roddick's inconsistencies were summed up in the fifth game of his match against Argentine Canas. He smashed, volleyed and then rocketed an unreturnable service past Canas to save three break points but then netted a routine forehand before losing his serve on a double fault.
Roddick managed to level at 5-5 and force a tiebreak before again proving wasteful as he threw away three set points and scooped a half-volley into the net to lose the first set.


A casual service game at the start of the second set -- concluded on another double fault -- gifted Canas a vital break, and as Roddick's first-serve figures plummeted to 17 percent the unseeded Argentine took charge to close out the match.


Roddick said he his game was not affected by events at the weekend, when he helped evacuate guests in a fire at a Rome hotel in which three people died. Canas was just happy to beat his opponent for second time in three meetings, the last one a defeat earlier this year.


"I lost to him in Miami, so for me it is a revenge to win against him here in Monaco and I am very happy to have beaten the world's number two."

Bureau Report