By Joshua Mason
Daily Bruin Staff
On Tuesday night, 21-year-old U.S. Open champion Marat Safin was
the old-timer on the court, as he matched up against budding star
Andy Roddick, the 18-year-old Nebraska sensation who has been
touted as the future of American tennis. In the end, it was
experience that prevailed over flash, as Safin defeated Roddick in
straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Roddick, donning a backwards cap and neon green shirt for the
match, seemed the epitome of the tour’s next generation. He
consistently scorched his serves over 130 miles per hour, at times
threw his racket down in frustration, and at one point in the
second set, shouted to the crowd after a frustrating miss,
“I’ve got groundstrokes for sale.”
Both players drew consistent gasps from the crowd of 7,014
““ Roddick for his wicked serves, Safin for his overall
precision on the court.
“After seeing (Roddick) today, he can still improve on a
few areas. He can use some work on his backhand and his
volleying,” Safin said. “He’s still young, so it
is good that he has things that he can work on.”
The Russian Safin, generally noted for his own tantrums on the
court, played the part of the more mature competitor in the first
round matchup. While Roddick made mistakes in his volleying, Safin
seemed flawless, keeping his composure even when the younger
Roddick nearly broke the second set open with a 4-3 lead.
“I don’t think I really did anything special to gain
momentum in the second set,” Safin said. “The guy just
gave it up to me. On break point, he went for too much on the
second serve.”
The second-seeded Safin, who had nine aces ““ three more
than Roddick ““ didn’t have to play overwhelming tennis,
he only played well enough to win.
Roddick stayed with Safin in the first six games of the first
set, but he ended up falling in the set’s final three
games.
In the second set, Roddick seemed to have the momentum in his
favor and the crowd on his side, when once again, he faltered in
the final games of the set to lose 6-4.
“It’s hard to come into a game against the former
No. 2 player in the world and expect to win,” Roddick said.
“I thought I had a good chance to win, but I didn’t
expect it.”
Safin will advance to the second round to take on Xavier Malisse
of Belgium on Thursday.