Rome Update: Roddick Hammers Hanescu

Before the match, Andy talked about how much he loves playing in Rome and this was portrayed through his level of tennis in his first round match at the Foro Italico. Walking onto court, Andy was looking to get some good wins on clay this Spring. Watched by Coach John Roddick, and Trainer Doug Spreen, we’re sure this win has ignited a good start for Andy in Europe.

Throughout the match Andy put on display a range of quality clay court tactics, from the drop shot to the lob. His serving was highly consistent, with his first four serves of the match all clocking in at over 230KPH. Andy’s decision to make a defense from behind the baseline paid dividends as he claimed his first break of the match following a superb forehand pass, to take a 2-1 lead. Andy executed outstanding court coverage, and even attempted the infamous clay court slide, as he took a double break. At 5-1, Andy pulled off a perfectly judged lob and put in some deep returns to catch his third break of the match and also a one set to love lead.

Andy carried his momentum into the second set, and despite his opponent having not won a match all year, Andy showed no mercy as another forehand cross court winner sailed past the Romanian to give Andy an early break 2-0. Hanescu showed a slight resurgence as he worked hard to get two break points in Andy’s next service game. A forehand winner, followed by a rocket serve, saw those chances disappear just as quickly as they had come. This was the end of Hanescu’s resistance and after he secured a double break, Andy’s tennis really began to shine as he perfected a drop shot and followed through with another strong forehand winner to take a 5-0 lead.

Hanescu made a last stand in a bid to get on the scoreboard in the second set. Yet Roddick was unrelentless and on his third match point capitalized on a Hanescu error to set himself up for a show down against Marcos Baghdatis!

Well done Andy! Stay tuned to AR.com for all the latest from Rome.