Berdych, Roddick Step Up To Reach Third Round

© Getty ImagesTomas Berdych is playing in his 30th consecutive Grand Slam tournament.

Top 10 players Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick overcame strong starts from their opponents on Wednesday at the Australian Open to reach the third round. World No. 6 Berdych rallied to defeat German Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, while No. 8 Roddick stepped up for a 7-6(7), 6-2, 6-3 victory over Russian Igor Kunitsyn.

Berdych looked in danger of losing in the second round of the Australian Open for a second straight year after conceding the only break of serve in the opening set, but turned the momentum in his favour as he went four for eight on his break point chances over the final three sets.

Kohlschreiber had a chance to extend the match, holding a break point chance with Berdych serving for the victory, but the Czech won the final three points to clinch the win in just over three hours.

The 25 year old will attempt to reach the fourth round in Melbourne for the fourth time in five years when he next faces No. 28 seed Richard Gasquet, who defeated fellow Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-4. Gasquet leads the head-to-head series 2-1, but Berdych dominated their most recent meeting in 2010 at Monte-Carlo, losing just two games.

“I have a big match against Berdych. He’s the favourite of the match,” said former World No. 7 Gasquet. “ I will try to be my best and to play better, to take confidence. I need matches like that.”

Buy Tickets | Watch Live (Territory Restrict.)

In Roddick’s second-round match, the American needed to fight off two set points in the tie-break against the 99th-ranked Kunitsyn before capitalising on his first opportunity to take the opening set. He broke Kunitsyn for a third time in the match to go up 5-3 in the decisive set, and served out the next game at love with an ace.

Roddick finished the two-hour, four-minute match with 16 aces and saved all three break points faced on serve.

“It could have gotten uncomfortable today if that first set would have gotten away,” said Roddick. “In retrospect, you always try to convince yourself that's a good thing to get through a tough set like that. Going into the match, if you're given an option, you want it to be as easy as possible every time.

“But I feel like I'm hitting the ball fine. I'm serving very well, kind of controlling the match with that right now. That's always a good thing for me.”

Roddick next faces Dutchman Robin Haase, the 2010 ATP World Tour Comeback Player Of The Year, who ousted No. 26 seed Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

American Mardy Fish, the No. 16 seed, was unable to join Roddick in the third round as Spaniard Tommy Robredo recovered for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win in two hours and 33 minutes. The 29-year-old Fish had posted his first comeback win from two sets down when he defeated Romanian Victor Hanescu on Monday. 

DEUCE Magazine: Fish - The Road To Redemption

In other matches Wednesday afternoon, 17th-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic defeated Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(5) and Belgian Xavier Malisse raced to a 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 win over No. 25 seed Albert Montanes of Spain.