Roddick beats Blake in three-set thriller at Memphis

Published January 08, 2015

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Reuters) - Andy Roddick reversed a run of three successive defeats to fellow American James Blake with a hard fought 6-3 4-6 7-6 first round victory at the Memphis Championships on Wednesday.

Top-seeded Roddick had served for the match at 5-4 in the final set but Blake broke him to extend the battle, before Roddick capitalized on three errors in the tie-break to take it 7-3.

Roddick, who lost the final of the San Jose Open to Fernando Verdasco last week, utilized his powerful serve throughout and finished the match with 22 aces and converted 76 percent of his first serves.

Fourth seed Tommy Haas was also upset 6-4 3-6 6-4 by Belgium's Xavier Malisse in a first round match.

Top seed Maria Sharapova breezed through her second round match in the women's draw with an easy 6-1 6-1 victory over American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in under an hour.

(Reporting by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

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