Roddick battles past Lu in Shanghai
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}By Peter Simpson
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Andy Roddick avoided another first round exit to rally past Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun 6-2 3-6 6-2 at the Shanghai Open on Monday.
The 10th seed enjoyed a sparkling start but world number 74 Lu elbowed his way back into the contest in the second set with some superb backhand returns down the line.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Roddick, who crashed out in the Beijing Open first round last week to Kevin Anderson, composed himself for the third set which he sealed with a break of serve.
"He plays so high risk with a lot of breaks. I had more break opportunities and didn't get them. But overall, I played better," Roddick told reporters.
South African Anderson came unstuck in his first round game at the Qi Zhong stadium, losing to Wimbledon quarter-finalist Bernard Tomic 7-6 6-7 6-3.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former world number three David Nalbandian beat Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 7-5 6-4.
Spain's world number two Rafa Nadal and Britain's world number four Andy Murray top the seeds in the event and enter the draw later this week.
The week-long tournament has been hit by injury and fatigue pullouts by several top players, including world number one Novak Djokovic, world number three Roger Federer, Robin Soderling and Gael Monfils.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(Editing by Mark Meadows)