Tennis
Roddick tumbles before win at Australian Open
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-01-19 09:15
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MELBOURNE, Australia - Andy Roddick took a tumble on his way to a first-round win Monday, tripping over the foot of a line judge.
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 Andy Roddick of the U.S. rubs his eye during his match against Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 18, 2010. [Photo/Agencies] |
Roddick rolled to the ground and angrily reproached the man when he stood.
"Move out of the way when you see a player coming," Roddick told the official before resuming the match with Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands and winning 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
The former No. 1-ranked Roddick was instantly concerned that the knee injury which sidelined him at the end of last season might have flared following the collision, but said he was not injured in his fall. He even joked that the line judge must have wanted a TV career as a professional wrestler.
"I ran into one of those immovable objects called a referee. He wasn't giving up any ground. I didn't see him. He wasn't really trying to do much to get out of the way," Roddick said.
"Normally they see a player running full speed, they decide to at least move or catch the player. You know, I felt like he was trying out for WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) or something, just letting me go."
The 27-year-old American was taken aback slightly by a left-field question about his dog, not something he's usually quizzed about at a major.
Roddick, who often Tweets about his dog, answered anyway. For the record, his in-laws _ the parents of Brooklyn Decker _ are taking care of Billie while he is in Australia.
"Sometimes when I leave, the dog wants to stay in Austin, because it just tells us," he said. At those times, Billie stays with a friend who sends daily e-mail updates on the dog.
A COLD SUMMER'S DAY: Mardy Fish made a last-minute decision to come to Australia this year, hoping the summer weather would make it easier on his left knee, which had been acting up in the cold American winter.
Last week, Fish reached the semifinals of the Sydney International in warm temperatures.
But a rainy Monday with a high of just 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 Celsius) drowned his chances at the Australian Open.
"I got here today and my body just completely failed me," Fish said. "We were rain delayed three times while we were on the court, so to start up and cool down and start up again, I mean, you couldn't draw a worse day for me and my knee."
Fish, who is also playing men's doubles with James Blake, had surgery on his left knee to repair cartilage damage last September.
He said he hopes to be chosen for the 2010 Davis Cup team but worried that other players were performing better than him, including John Isner and Sam Querrey.
"Obviously I would love to play," he said. "I've always said yes to Davis Cup and always will probably. But there are players that are playing better than me and having better results than me."
FOUR DECADES OF TENNIS: France's Fabrice Santoro has become the first player to compete in Grand Slam tournaments across four decades.
Santoro, who is also the oldest player in the men's tournament, made his Grand Slam debut in 1989 at Roland Garros.
On Monday he played a night match against Marin Cilic of Croatia in the first Grand Slam of the new decade, despite retiring from the ATP World Tour in November. The match was suspended due to rain, with Cilic leading 7-5, 4-2 (30-15).
Santoro also holds the record for the most number of Open era Grand Slam appearances among the men. This is his 70th; Andre Agassi follows him with 61.
This is the 18th time Santoro has competed in the Australian Open, another record.
NO TIME FOR YOGA: Andy Murray _ who once credited Bikram yoga with helping him trim down, tone up and win matches _ said he has not kept up with the practice lately because of its dehydrating effects.
Murray said he only did one Bikram session during the offseason.
"I used to do a little bit more beforehand, but it's difficult to fit in 'cause you get very dehydrated doing it," he said. "You can't really dehydrate yourself that much and then go and play. So you tend to do it at the end of the days."
Bikram yoga is a series of poses performed in a room heated to about 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) in order to loosen muscles, gain flexibility and detoxify through sweat.
But Murray said a shortened offseason meant yoga was not one of his priorities.
The fifth-seeded Murray won his first-round match at the Australian Open on Monday, beating South Africa's Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
WTT DOWN UNDER: World TeamTennis will make its Australian debut at the Australian Open this year, with a special Australia vs. Internationals match on January 27.
WTT co-founder Billie Jean King says Australians will love the concept.
"This year marks our 35th season and some of my favorite moments in WTT were playing alongside and against some of the Australian greats," King said in a statement. "To have the opportunity to introduce WTT to an entirely new generation of Australian fans is both an honor and a privilege."
The WTT match consists of five sets, with one set each of men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.
The Australian team is made up of Pat Rafter, Pat Cash, Nicole Bradtke and Alicia Molik, under the guidance of team coach John Fitzgerald.
For the Internationals, Mary Joe Fernandez will coach and play along with Tracy Austin, Goran Ivanisevic and Todd Martin.
"It is good fun, interactive and high quality tennis," Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said. "It is fiercely competitive and the team spirit is strong and adds another dimension to the tennis."
TOUGH ROAD: Belgian Yanina Wickmayer's route to the Australian Open main draw was unusually tough. Her progress to the second round was an even bigger challenge.
No. 16-ranked Wickmayer was forced to qualify for the Grand Slam tournament because of the suspension she was under for violating the World Anti-Doping Agency's "whereabouts rule." The ban was overturned last month, but not in time for entries for the Australian Open.
On Monday she held off Alexandra Dulgheru 1-6, 7-5, 10-8, officially in 3 hours, 20 minutes but much longer from beginning to end due to several rain interruptions.
"I know I wasn't playing great," Wickmayer said. "So the only thing I could get through this match was to fight for every point, just be ready for a long fight."
Her ranking usually would have earned her the No. 16 seeding at the Australian Open, something that would have made her preparation and her path in the tournament significantly easier. But she acknowledged that her three wins in the qualifying rounds may have been beneficial.
"Mentally it was good playing them," she said. "I got a little stronger, a little tougher mentally. I think it's going to serve me well in the future."
