Roddick settles down to win, Serena advances from
Yahoo.com By BEN WALKER, AP National Writer
September 4, 2004
NEW YORK (AP) -- Andy Roddick scuffed his hand, scuffled with the chair umpire and barely shook hands with Rafael Nadal when the match was over.
A tough night for the defending U.S. Open champion? Hardly.
Roddick lost his concentration and a bit of his composure -- ``Watch the damn ball!'' he shouted at umpire Andreas Egli -- but still beat Nadal 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday to reach the third round.
``There's something about a night session at the Open that kind of gets inside you a little bit,'' Roddick said.
Serena Williams toned down her outfit, saying ``an earring malfunction'' was partly to blame. Her game also seemed a bit flat, though she beat 30th-seeded Tatiana Golovin 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the fourth round.
Williams overcame a 4-1 deficit in the first set and won despite making 42 unforced errors. The two-time Open winner noticed that huge total on the big video screen at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
``I was playing two opponents: her and myself,'' Williams said.
The other favored women also moved on, with No. 2 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 6 Elena Dementieva, No. 8 Jennifer Capriati, No. 10 Vera Zvonareva and No. 15 Patty Schnyder winning. So did No. 16 Francesca Schiavone, who finished off popular wild card Angela Haynes 6-3, 7-6 (3).
The men, however, had a much harder time.
Last year's runner-up, No. 7 Juan Carlos Ferrero, was chased by Stefan Koubek 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-3. Also losing were eighth-seeded David Nalbandian, a semifinalist last year, and No. 12 Sebastien Grosjean.
When No. 23 Vince Spadea fell to Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, only two U.S. men were left -- Roddick and Andre Agassi. Never before had fewer than three Americans reached the Open's third round.
On Saturday, top-seeded Roger Federer and Justine Henin-Hardenne will be in action, along with Agassi, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams.
Roddick tied his Open record with a 152 mph serve, with one that caught Nadal in the lip and another that sent the teen tumbling.
Roddick skimmed his right hand when he slipped running to the net. He flexed it a few times later in the match, though he was able to grasp his racket just fine.
But Roddick lost his grip after an odd occurrence in the third set.
Roddick hit a shot from the baseline and, as he charged toward the net, an extra ball came tumbling out of his pocket and nicked him in the heel.
Egli took a moment before calling a let -- it was the right call -- but Roddick let the umpire have it.
``This is a horrible call,'' Roddick said. ``What are you doing looking back there when I'm at the net?''
``Either you're very bad or I'm underestimating your ability,'' he said.
Roddick later said he thought Egli should've made the call sooner. Roddick also was upset that the call came just as he was about to smash home a winner.
``I'm not going to hit that into the net, don't worry about it,'' he berated Egli.
Overall, Roddick seemed pleased.
``I played really well for the first two sets; kind of had a concentration lapse in the third,'' he said. ``But I was able to come through in the end.''
Roddick was not the only one getting testy.
Usually composed, Ferrero knocked a ball out of the stadium and was penalized a point for yelling at an official.
Later, the Spaniard charged that chair umpires ``do not treat all players the same.''
``Maybe it's easy to say code violation (to me), and maybe to other big players, it's not the same, here in the United States. So I'm not happy with the chair umpire.''
Tournament referee Brian Earley responded, ``We stand behind the impartiality and consistency of our officiating, and wholeheartedly disagree with Mr. Ferrero's statement to the contrary.''
Meanwhile, Nicolas Massu was fined $1,000 for equipment abuse a day after throwing a tantrum. The Olympic double gold medalist slammed his racket in a loss to Sargis Sargsian that took 5 hours, 9 minutes -- the second-longest match in Open history.
Also, Taylor Dent was fined $1,500 for swearing in a loss to Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Capriati took a minute or so longer than she expected to beat Russian teen Vera Douchevina 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-3.
Capriati thought she'd gotten a match point when a shot by Douchevina looked long. But when the chair umpire disagreed, Capriati dropped her racket and walked over to discuss it.
In general, Capriati questioned the on-court calls.
``Even from watching other matches, they haven't been too good,'' she said. ``This level of the game, when it's so close, and one or two shots can make a difference, I don't think it's fair.''
And with the NFL, NHL and NBA all using some type of instant replay, Capriati said she thought tennis should give it a go, too.
``I'd like to know what we're waiting for. I don't see why they don't start at least trying it,'' she said.
Updated on Saturday, Sep 4, 2004 10:37 am EDT
I think he hurt his back again in about the third set. When he started walking like he was hurt I thought oh oh. 
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