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Tipsarevic sends Roddick packing

Michael Llodra humbles Tomas Berdych; Bhupathi-Mirnyi advances

NEW YORK: Ninth-seeded Andy Roddick made a shocking second-round exit from the US Open on Wednesday with Serbia's 44th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic firing 66 winners in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory.

Roddick, whose lone Grand Slam title at the 2003 US Open was the most recent Slam crown won by an American, suffered his only worse Flushing Meadows finish with a first round exit in 2005.

Tipsarevic smacked 66 winners, hit 59 per cent of his first serves and won 81 per cent of his first-serve points to send off Roddick, who told the Serbian not to lose his next match. “He said, ‘If you lose early I'm going to freaking kill you,” Tipsarevic said.

“He played great,” Roddick said. “I told him, ‘Too good.'”

Tipsarevic next faces French 17th seed Gael Monfils, who celebrated his 24th birthday by ousting 121st-rated Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. The Russian, slowed by knee and ankle injuries, had won four of five prior matches against Monfils.

“He's maybe after (top seed Rafael) Nadal the guy who is moving the best on the court, playing really well,” Tipsarevic said.

After splitting the first two sets, Roddick fell behind in the third but gathered energy after a foot fault controversy. With Roddick serving down 2-5 in the third set, a line judge called a foot fault that television replays showed was correct.

But when Roddick asked her which foot he committed the violation with, she mistakenly said the right, giving Roddick something to verbally complain about into the next set.

“Why don't you get some umpires who know what they are doing?” Roddick said. “Try 1-800-Rent-A-Ref!” “My right foot? Really? Right foot?” Roddick yelled. “Had time to think about how that is physically impossible?” Roddick battled back to hold serve but Tipsarevic battled through five set points before finally smacking a backhand down the line winner past Roddick to claim the set.

“I'm either really talented or she messed up really bad. That's ridiculous. I think we both know that's ridiculous,” Roddick said to the chair umpire after the set, muttering an obscenity as he walked to the locker room for a shirt.

After the match, Roddick was only mildly calmed down about the call. “I expect my umpires to know their right foot from their left,” Roddick said. “It was the fact that I couldn't get her to admit it was the wrong foot infuriated me. I have trouble when they stick to an argument that's wrong.”

Roddick, who won 17-of-17 first-serve points in the fourth set, fell behind 3-2 in the tie-breaker when he sent a backhand beyond the baseline. Tipsarevic then won the next two points on his serve for a 5-2 edge.

Roddick hit a backhand volley winner and Tipsarevic hit a backhand long to pull the American within 5-4, but the Serbian smacked a service winner to reach match point and won it after three hours and 18 minutes with a backhand winner.

Britain's Andy Murray fired eight aces and 37 winners to overwhelm Slovakia's 71st-ranked Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, in one hour and 51 minutes to book a second-round match-up against Jamaican Dustin Brown.

Berdych out

Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych, whose Wimbledon run and a French Open semifinal appearance had him among the favourites, was humbled by France's 35th-ranked Michael Llodra 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-4.

Clijsters cruises

Defending champion Kim Clijsters reached the third round by defeating Sally Peers of Australia 6-2, 6-1.

The Belgian second seed will play 27th seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic for a place in the fourth round after she defeated Britain's Elena Baltacha 7-6(5), 6-3.

Fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi beat Arnaud Clement and Nicolas Mahut to advance to the second round of the men's doubles event.

Bhupathi, who was a finalist here last year, and his Belarussian partner beat the French pair 6-1 6-4.

Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna and his Chinese partner Zi Yan bowed out of the mixed doubles event with a 2-6, 4-6 first round defeat against America's Rajeev Ram and Aravane Rezai of France. — Agencies

Prefix denotes seeding

Men: Second round: 17-Gael Monfils (Fra) bt Igor Andreev (Rus) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3; Janko Tipsarevic (Srb) bt 9-Andy Roddick (USA) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(4).

First round: Michael Llodra (Fra) bt 7-Tomas Berdych (Cze) 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-4; Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukr) bt Peter Luczak (Aus) 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-4, 6-2; 4-Andy Murray (Gbr) bt Lukas Lacko (Svk 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; 25-Stanislas Wawrinka (Sui) bt Mikhail Kukushkin (Kaz) 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; Juan Ignacio Chela (Arg) bt Lu Yen-Hsun (Tpe) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; Gilles Simon (Fra) bt Donald Young (USA) 6-1, 6-4, 6-2; 12-Mikhail Youzhny (Rus) bt Andrey Golubev (Kaz) 6-2, 6-3, 6-3; 29-Philipp Kohlschreiber (Ger) bt Tobias Kamke (Ger) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; Marco Chiudinelli (Sui) bt Jack Sock (USA) 6-1, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1; Dudi Sela (Isr) bt Xavier Malisse (Bel) 7-6(1), 7-5, 6-2; 18-John Isner (USA) bt Frederico Gil (Por) 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Esp) bt Lukasz Kubot (Pol) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(4); Victor Hanescu (Rom) bt Carlos Berlocq (Arg) 6-2, 6-4, 6-3; Dustin Brown (Jam) bt Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (Esp) 6-4, 7-6(6), 7-5; 20-Sam Querrey (USA) bt Bradley Klahn (USA) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4; 14-Nicolas Almagro (Esp) bt Potito Starace (Ita) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(5); Marcel Granollers (Esp) bt Andreas Seppi (Ita) 2-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3; Ryan Harrison (USA) bt 15-Ivan Ljubicic (Cro) 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles: First round: Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind) & Max Mirnyi (Blr) bt Arnaud Clement & Nicolas Mahut (Fra) 6-1, 6-4.

Women: Second round: Virginie Razzano (Fra) bt 13-Marion Bartoli (Fra) 7-5, 6-4; Mandy Minella (Lux) bt 32-Tsvetana Pironkova (Bul) 6-4, 6-0; 6-Francesca Shiavone (Ita) bt Maria Elena Camerin (Esp) 6-2, 6-1; 24-Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) bt Vania King (USA) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4; 12-Elena Dementieva (Rus) bt Sybille Bammer (Aut) 6-3, 6-4; 3-Venus Williams (USA) bt Rebecca Marino (Can) 7-6(3), 6-3; Sara Errani (Ita) bt 28-Alisa Kleybanova (Rus) 6-2, 6-3; 29-Alona Bondarenko (Ukr) bt Melanie Oudin (USA) 6-2, 7-5; 19-Flavia Pennetta (Ita) bt Agnes Szavay (Hun) 6-1, 6-4; 5-Samantha Stosur (Aus) bt Anastasia Rodionova (Aus) 6-1, 6-4; 27-Petra Kvitova (Cze) bt Elena Baltacha (Gbr) 7-6(5), 6-3; 2-Kim Clijsters (Bel) bt Sally Peers (Aus) 6-2, 6-1; 16-Shahar Peer (Isr) bt Pauline Parmentier (Fra) 6-2, 6-3.

Gisela Dulko (Arg) bt 10-Victoria Azarenka (Blr) 5-1, retd.; Ana Ivanovic (Srb) bt 21-Jie Zheng (Chn) 6-3, 6-0.

Mixed doubles: First round: Rajeev Ram (USA) & Aravane Rezai (Fra) bt Rohan Bopanna (Ind) & Zi Yan (Chn) 6-2; 6-4 .

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