Simon hangs on in Madrid
Published: Tue, Oct. 14, 2008 12:30AM
Modified Tue, Oct. 14, 2008 03:25AM
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closeGilles Simon saved four match points and beat Igor Andreev 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7) in the first round of the Madrid Masters tennis tournament on Monday in Madrid, Spain.
Simon fought off all four match points while serving at 4-5 in the third set. Then the three-time title winner on tour this season came back from a 5-3 deficit in the tiebreaker and advanced to a matchup against 11th-seeded James Blake.
Former top-five player Tommy Robredo held off Andreas Seppi 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3 in 2 hours, 19 minutes and next plays eighth-seeded Andy Roddick. Tomas Berdych eased past Rainer Schuettler 6-1, 6-2, and Marian Cilic beat qualifier Olivier Rochus 6-3, 7-5.
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Mardy Fish hit 13 aces to beat Steve Darcis 6-1, 6-4, in his first match since he got married two weeks ago. Fish converted all four of his break points and will play Richard Gasquet next.
Lucky loser Simone Bolelli also advanced, beating Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (4), 6-1. Bolelli, who was entered only after former champion Marat Safin withdrew with a shoulder injury, will next face U.S. Open finalist Andy Murray.
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal will play Ernests Gulbis today. Roger Federer opens against Radek Stapenek on Wednesday.
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