Andy admits to having some rough starts but overall is pleased with his performances in Rome. “It feels good. I’m actually moving okay and I’m getting better height on the ball than I think I normally do. For me, it’s just a matter of getting a couple matches, but I don’t always give myself that opportunity. It’s nice to have gotten, you know, gotten along in the tournament a bit,” Andy told the media after defeating Italy’s Simone Bolelli.

Andy holds a perfect 7-0 record against Robredo, but the two have not played in years. Their last match was in 2004 at the US Open. The two also battled in Rome in 2002 where Roddick defeated the Spaniard 6-4 7-6(2). Despite a perfect record, Andy is not letting the confidence go to his head. He is very aware of Robredo’s abilities on clay. “I’m not good enough to look past the next match, so I’ll just try to get through one more.”

Andy joins compatriot James Blake in the elite eight in Rome. It is little surprise that Andy found humor in the situation. “Who would have thought we would have a couple Americans making up a quarter of the draw in the quarterfinals. I guess if we landed on the moon we can figure out how to get to the quarterfinals of a clay court tournament, right?

Andy and Robredo are set to showdown third on Friday, the first match will start at 1:15 pm local time, 7:15 am EST.

Check out some stats on Robredo courtesy of the ATP:

Tommy Robredo (ESP)
Pronounced: roh-BREY-doh
Birthdate: 1-May-82
Birthplace: Hostalric, Spain
Residence: Barcelona, Spain
Height: 5’11’’ (180 cm)
Weight: 165 lbs (75 kg)
Plays: Right-handed
Turned Pro: 1998
Coach: Jose Clavet
Current ATP Ranking – Singles: 16
Career High ATP Ranking – Singles: 5 (28-Aug-06)
Current ATP Race – Singles: 38

Case in point: earlier this month 10,000 people from all over the country dusted off their foghorns and 4th of July bests to root Team USA to an enthralling win over France in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup in Winston-Salem, N.C. It was the second Davis Cup match in the venue in the past eight months and if you asked anyone in Winston-Salem, they’d tell you they’d want to have every home Davis Cup match there. I couldn’t walk into a restaurant, coffee shop or through the hotel lobby without engaging in a conversation about the event.

It certainly helps that the American men are defending champions, have a star-studded team and their loyalty is so strong that they might as well bleed red, white and blue. Andy Roddick, James Blake, and the Bryan twins have played in Cup matches 10 straight times. This isn’t a partnership of convenience. These guys play anywhere, anytime. They’ve played home, away, on clay, on grass, a week after Grand Slam successes and disappointments, and even six weeks after lifting the Championship Cup.

Their consistency is rewarded by a legion of fans, some of whom refer to themselves as NETHEADS, who travel to support the team no matter where and when they are playing. Easter Sunday? No problem. Friday afternoons? No sweat. Look up and there they are, dressed in red, white, and blue and screaming their heads off.

Click here to read the full article at SI.com.

Roddick looked confident in his first ATP clay-court tournament of the year, striking four aces and winning 71 per cent of service points for victory in 69 minutes. The World No. 6 is making his seventh appearance at the Foro Italico, where his best performance came on debut in 2002 when he reached the semifinals (l. to Haas).

The two-time titlist at San Jose (d. Stepanek) and Dubai (d. Lopez) improves to 22-4 on the season and now has to wait for his third round opponent, which could potentially be No. 10 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.

Fish, who reached the ATP Masters Series Indian Wells final in March (l. to Djokovic), won 12 points in the first set against Roddick as any hope of a first career win since Delray Beach in 2003 quickly went away. The 26-year-old drops to 16-9 on the season and 13-28 lifetime against Top 10 opponents.

Click here to read the full article at ATPTennis.com.

In his first outing on clay this season, Andy played a solid and consistent match against his friend to move into the third round for the fourth time.

In much sunnier conditions in Rome, Andy enjoyed a fast start to the match, taking advantage of Fish’s many errors early on to race to a 5-0 lead. Fish was able to get his side of the scoreboard moving to 5-1 with a couple of aces to help secure his game. However, Andy was in command and a stunning backhand winner set up three set points for him at 40-0.

Fish saved the first with one of his best plays of the set – a backhand drop shot. But Andy responded with another pin point serve that Fish could only return into the net, and Andy secured the first set after just 22 minutes, having dropped only four points on serve.

The match began to take on an ominous feel for Fish, who has lost his past six of seven matches against Andy, as he immediately went break point down in the opening game of the second set. However, Andy’s backhand pass couldn’t find a way past the net-rushing Fish and he was able to save the break point and the game, earning him a 1-0 lead.

The early foothold in the set gave Fish some belief as he started to find his feet on the clay. As he started to reproduce some of the form that saw him reach the final at ATP Masters Series Indian Wells, especially off the forehand side, he came close to breaking Andy’s serve at 2-1. However, Andy held his nerve and wore Fish down from the back of the court, Fish eventually going for too much off the forehand side and missing the court.

As the set wore on, the pressure began to tell on Fish first. At 3-3, with the set finely balanced, the errors of the first set began to return to Fish’s racquet and Andy was quick to take advantage, converting his second break point to lead 4-3.

4-3 quickly progressed to 5-4, and Andy found himself serving for the match. Fish continued to fight, but Andy’s consistency and all round more solid performance proved to be the key. At 30-30 a forehand wide from Fish brought up Andy’s first match point and another forehand wide from Fish secured the 6-1, 6-4 victory for Andy after one hour and six minutes.

Andy will now await the winner to come from a section of two first round matches yet to be played: Bolelli vs. Patience; Simon vs. Tsonga.

Stay tuned to andyroddick.com for all the latest news and views from Rome.

Go, Andy!

Hitting the clay for the first time this year, Andy has high hopes in this ancient city rich in history, culture, and now tennis to go the distance. The Rome Masters Event is entering its 78th year running, boasting 8 clay courts on the Foro Italico grounds. With ATP and WTA competing here, starting one week apart but still overlapping, Rome will be totally tennis for about twenty days, awarding about 3.6 million Euros throughout.

“His fame and his unchanged value probably even increased esteem and popularity,” Palmieri noted on Andy’s continuous fight to win in the Eternal City. Last year, Andy fell in the third round to Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in straight sets. Andy’s success will turn around in his lucky number seven year here, hoping to top his 2002 semifinal appearance.

Facing the winner of the Llodra/Fish match in the second round, Andy could then go on to play Tsonga or Davydenko, and then Nadal or Blake in the semifinals. Between all of this heated action on court, Rome is known for a few famous things to experience while waiting for our American Firepower to blaze his opponents.
-Gelato, like ice cream but sweeter!
-Buffalo Mozzarella, one of Andy’s favorites
-Walking the great city to see the Coliseum, Pantheon, Vatican, and the still-standing church built in 173AD that left Andy awe-struck

With play beginning Monday, May 5th, and continuing through Sunday, May 18th, Andy will be kicking up the dirt and sliding across the clay during play, and AR.com will keep you posted on all of Andy’s on-court action. Stay tuned for a tournament and match preview, and everything from Roma! Go Andy!