Houston, Apr 22: Second-seeded Andy Roddick got off to an impressive start in his quest for a third straight US men's Clay Court Championships title by ousting fellow American Jeff Morrison in just 51 minutes. Roddick, who lost to a qualifier in the first round of his last tournament at Monte Carlo, was pleased with his 6-3 6-1 victory yesterday. "The difference was pretty much everything," he said. "I felt in control of the match instead of the other way around. "I played up to my abilities tonight and I didn't in Monte Carlo. This is a special place for me for obvious reasons." Third-seeded American James Blake had to battle but finally overcame Alexander Waske of Germany 6-4 6-4 in another first-round match. Blake trailed 4-3 in the second set, but rallied and won at the second match point. Juergen Melzer of Austria defeated fourth seeded American Taylor Dent 4-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-3, and Olivier Mutis of France beat Hugo Armando of the United States, 6-7 (7/1) 6-4 6-1. Roddick had little trouble getting started with his title defence, allowing Morrison only three points in the first three games of the match. "The first one or two matches are tough for me to get into the tournament," Roddick said. "I was lucky to get that first break, and after that I served pretty well." Bureau Report