MELBOURNE, Australia -- Andy Roddick was grumpy and the
Australian Open crowd smelled a possible first-round upset.
Roddick argued line calls and lost a first-set marathon
tiebreaker to his 212th-ranked opponent. But as a cool morning haze
burned off under the summer sun, Roddick came through with a 6-7
(18), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-3 victory Monday against French wild card
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.
Roddick thought the inexperienced Tsonga might get a little
tight as he served at 5-2 for a two-set lead.
He was right.
Three Tsonga mistakes helped Roddick get back on serve, and
Roddick raced through the second-set tiebreaker to even the match.
Tsonga never recovered, and Roddick walked off the court a winner
an hour later.
"I'm not really worried about how I'm hitting the ball,"
Roddick said. "I think these first matches are a little bit
uncomfortable sometimes."
Roddick is a contender at the first Grand Slam of the year after
beating top-ranked Roger Federer in an exhibition warmup tournament
Saturday.
But the 21-year-old Tsonga, playing only his sixth match of a
top-level ATP event, quickly cracked the American's comfort level
with his powerful serve. His go-for-broke style included running
around his weaker two-fisted backhand, often standing to the left
of the sideline to pound winners.
"When we were in the locker room, we kind of thought that he
might come out and just go for broke a little bit," Roddick said.
"And he did that. I didn't know if he'd be able to keep it up. I
kept thinking that he was going to crack somewhere along the
lines."
Tsonga earned a following among the packed showcourt crowd,
verbally psyched himself up before and during points. Shouts from
U.S. flag-draped fans of "Let's go Andy!" were countered by "Go
Jo!"
The first tiebreaker lasted nearly as long as the opening 12
games, with Tsonga prevailing 20-18.
"I think in the 'breaker I got a little bit tight, and it was a
little bit uncomfortable because I thought he was serving real
well," Roddick said. "And then when I did kind of get a ball to
go after, maybe I got a little too excited and maybe rushed it a
little bit."
The 2003 U.S. Open champion criticized chair umpire Carlos
Ramos, calling him a "glorified scorekeeper" after a call gave
Tsonga a set point at 11-10 in the first tiebreaker. Roddick
thought one of Tsonga's balls was well beyond the baseline.
Video replays are being used for the first time only at center
court of Rod Laver Arena. Roddick and Tsonga played on the second
showcourt.
"When you disagree about something at an important moment in a
tiebreaker, it's a bit frustrating," Roddick said. "He's pretty
much the only other person I can vent my frustrations to besides
myself. So unfortunately sometimes they catch the brunt of it."
Tsonga shrugged off a suggestion that Roddick might have been
trying to break his rhythm.
"I don't know, maybe," Tsonga said. "But it's a game, you
know. You can do that if you want."
Roddick has been working with eight-time Grand Slam champion
Jimmy Connors since losing at Wimbledon last year. Roddick is
unsure if Connors will travel to Melbourne following the recent
death of his mother and longtime coach, Gloria Connors.