Roddick penalised during Kohlschreiber defeat
Originally published on: 16/08/11 10:17
Andy Roddick fell in the first round of a tournament for the fourth time this year after squandering a healthy lead and losing his rag against Philipp Kohlschreiber in Cincinnati.
The Nebraska native, who won the Western & Southern Open in 2003 and 2006, won the opening set and broke for a 3-2 lead in the second but squandered his advantage when a momentary show of anger after a double fault earned him a point penalty and handed the break back to the world No.47.
Roddick had earlier been warned for racket abuse and was then docked a point for firing the ball into the crowd, but believes the umpire over-reacted with a ‘counterproductive’ decision.
“Obviously it’s a split second thing, as soon as I did it I wanted it back,” said the American. “It was a judgement call for the umpire. I’m pretty sure I saw an eight-year-old girl catch it on the way down. He was telling me I hit it as hard as I could.
“I understand where the umpire is coming from but at a certain point, you know, you hit a tennis ball into a stadium, someone goes home with a souvenir, and it pretty much ruins the match from there. Seems counterproductive.”
Kohlschreiber capitalised on the incident, racing into a 5-0 lead before serving out a 6-7(7) 7-5 6-1 victory to deny Roddick the opportunity to avenge his Wimbledon defeat to Felciano Lopez, who he will face in round two.
Despite recording another first round loss – to add to his early exits in Miami, Madrid and Rome this Spring – Roddick attempted to look on the bright side after cooling off in the aftermath of his first match since losing to David Ferrer in the Davis Cup, having struggled with an abdominal injury in recent weeks.
“For two sets tonight I actually hit the ball well considering. I hit the ball a lot better than I thought I would, if I’m being totally candid,” said Roddick, who turns 29 at the end of this month. “I probably will wake up tomorrow morning feeling a little bit better about where I’m at than I did when I woke up this morning.”
As for New York, the scene of his lone Grand Slam triumph in 2003, the former world No.1 does not believe his chances of a good run at his home major are in any way hampered by his latest defeat.
“I’m not that concerned about New York right now,” insisted Roddick, who will now prepare for next week’s inaugural Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina in a bid to recover his form in time for the US Open.
“I got to get to Winston Salem and try to get a couple matches. That’s it. For me it’s silly to think about New York yet. Obviously if I go and win Winston Salem then it’s a different ballgame, or final of Winston Salem it’s a different ballgame. So a lot can change in a matter of two weeks.”
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