The Legg Mason Tennis Classic was in danger of losing its top drawing card Thursday night. But just when Andy Roddick looked most vulnerable against Radek Stepanek, the top seed finally got control of his hyperkinetic game.
With a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 victory at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, Roddick advances to a quarterfinal match against Korea’s Hyung-Tiak Lee tonight.
“[Stepanek] won in L.A. He’s been playing well,” said Roddick. “I saw the draw and thought it was the toughest draw for both of us. He was the toughest player I could play in that round.”
With the final set even, four-all, Roddick faced two break points. But that’s when the American got control of his power repertoire and reeled off four straight points. Three games later, up 6-5 with Stepanek serving, Roddick won four straight points again, by rushing the net and forcing the action.
“I kind of hung around,” said Roddick. “I tried to hang back a little bit in the third set, especially the big points. I tried to create things.”
Roddick hit four straight aces to win the match’s opening game and closed out the first set with three straight. The second set was all Stepanek. The Czech, who defeated Rockville native Paul Goldstein on Wednesday, broke Roddick twice in the set, his only two breaks in the match. Stepanek scored on all but one of his first serves, squashing Roddick’s momentum and quieting the crowd.
Both players held serve in the final set until Roddick’s timely break in the final game.
Roddick’s quarterfinal opponent is a familiar one. The fifth-seeded Lee has faced Roddick 10 times including last week in Indianapolis, a three-set loss. Roddick is 9-1 against the 31-year-old Korean.
“He’s great at striking the first ball off of your return,” said Roddick. “The biggest thing is you try to make him uncomfortable. Try to put him in a hole. Try to break his rhythm a little bit.”
