Herald Tribune: Roddick eager to make more memories at Key Biscayne

For Andy Roddick, the annual return to Key Biscayne stirs up plenty of good memories.He came to the tournament site as a grade-school student, bused in with hundreds of other kids for clinics. Seven years ago, at age 18, he nearly decapitated Pete Sampras with a 136-mph serve en route to a third-round upset. In 2004 he won the title.

“I have a little bit of history here,” Roddick said Thursday.

He hopes to make more with a title run at this year’s Sony Ericsson Open. Roddick plays his opening match Saturday against qualifier Viktor Troicki.

The timing might be right for a repeat of 2004. Roddick is off to a good start this year — he’s one of five players with two ATP titles — while nemesis Roger Federer has yet to reach a final.

With the top-ranked Federer off his game, does that create an opportunity for Roddick? They could meet in the quarterfinals.

“I’ve got to get there, so it’s not even relevant for me right now,” said Roddick, who is 1-15 against Federer. “I’m sure Roger would tell you he’s probably not playing his best right now. That being said, I think Roger’s earned the right for us to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“No matter how much everyone’s creating questions, he’s still capable of coming out and winning this tennis tournament.”

Seeded players had first-round byes, but a two-time Grand Slam champion played Thursday — and not well. Marat Safin hit another low when he lost to American qualifier Bobby Reynolds 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5).

Safin fell to 1-5 in 2008, and his ranking has fallen from 56th to 90th since the start of the year. But the 28-year-old Russian said he’s healthy and not tired of tennis.

“If I was tired, I would have stopped a long time ago,” Safin said. “I’m trying, and it doesn’t come out my way. But that doesn’t mean that I have to stop because I’m not winning matches. I enjoy what I’m doing. I have plenty of cash to do what I want to do, so what I want to do is play tennis.”

Also eliminated was Mardy Fish, who beat Federer en route to a runner-up finish last week at Indian Wells. Arnaud Clement caught Fish on the rebound and won 6-3, 6-3.

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