HOUSTON -- Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus rallied in the second
set to beat Jesse Witten of the United States 6-4, 7-6 (2)
Wednesday as his rowdy, flag-waving fans shouted and stomped to the
beat of throbbing music in the first round of the U.S. Men's Clay
Court Championship.
Top-seeded Andy Roddick had little trouble in defeating Oliver
Maranch of Austria 6-3, 6-4 in a second round match. He'll face
former champion Tommy Haas of Germany in Friday's quarterfinals.
Baghdatis was down 2-5 in the second set when he finally gave
his vocal fans something to cheer, just as he did when he came from
far down in the rankings to reach the finals of the Australian Open
in January. He lost in the finals but became a national hero in
Cyprus.
Baghdatis held serve in the eighth game and broke Witten in the
ninth game when Witten drove a forehand into the net trying to
return a drop shot by Baghdatis. That brought Baghdatis' fans to
their feet, sensing the comeback.
"I think Cypriots are everywhere," Baghdatis said. "It's fun
playing in front of your countrymen, your own people. It's a big
responsibility. The whole country sees what I do, especially the
kids so I try to have a good image for them and try not to do any
bad things in life, trying to show them good examples."
The two players then served out to force the tiebreaker.
Baghdatis won the final four points of the tiebreaker and won the
match at the first match point on Witten's errant service return.
Baghdatis had a tough time to start the second set. He lost 12
of the first 13 points of the set. Witten closed out a love third
game with an ace for a 3-0 lead. Baghdatis held in the sixth game
after surviving two break points.
Baghdatis played 11 sets in two days in Europe last week and
then showed up at Westside Tennis Club with jetlag from a long
flight to Texas.
"I wasn't expected to play good today," Baghdatis said. "I
just told myself to try to get through and fight at the important
moments and that's what I did. It paid off for today. I played good
at the end of the second set.
"It was important not to go to the third set. I think that will
help me to get some sleep and be fresh for tomorrow."
Fifth-seeded Haas of Germany was down 5-2 in the second
set but charged back to a 6-1, 7-6 (7) victory over countryman
Alexander Waske in a second-round match. Haas broke Waske in the
ninth and 11th games. Then, Haas suffered his only service loss of
the match in the 12th game for a 6-6, forcing the tiebreaker.
Tied at 7-7 in the tie-breaker, Haas hit an overhead winner and
won at the first match point on Waske's forehand net error.
Roddick escaped one break point in the sixth game of the second
set but finally held on Maranch's backhand error. Roddick ended the
match with an ace. Roddick hit 70 percent of his first serves.
"I was a little low on energy all day," Roddick said. "I
wasn't expecting back to backs but I understand why. I'm glad to
have a day off before I play Tommy [Haas] on Friday."
Roddick lost to Haas in the finals of the 2004 clay court event.
Roddick says he's ready for a good performance.
"I'm looking forward to it," Roddick said. "Tommy's been
playing great. I feel like I'm playing well, I've turned the corner
and this will be a great test. He's in form and on a surface he
likes. I want to play well against an elite player."