Second seed Andy Roddick [Images] buried the disappointment of losing in the first round of last year's US Open [Images] with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Swiss qualifier Michael Lammer at the Australian Open [Images] on Monday.
Meanwhile, Tim Henman was knocked out of the Australian Open when he lost his opening round match to Russian Dmitry Tursunov [Images] 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.
Roddick, who said losing to Gilles Muller in the first round in New York last year was the biggest disappointment of his career, predictably beat Lammer in straight sets.
The 23-year-old American, who won the invitational Kooyong Classic in Melbourne on Saturday, had not played a competitive ATP tour match since the Paris Masters last November due to a painful back injury.
While Roddick appeared to win comfortably, Lammer managed to prove a stubborn opponent, nullifying Roddick's powerful service game with some solid returns.
The British number one looked to be in good touch when he won the first set but dropped the next two then blew a 5-1 lead in the fourth.
Henman's loss was his first opening round exit at Melbourne Park since 1998 and continued his prolonged form slump.
He also lost to Tursunov in the second round at Wimbledon [Images] last year before losing in the first round at the U.S. Open to finish the year ranked outside the top 20.
© Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
|