Malisse Tops Defending Memphis Champ Roddick; Raonic, Stepanek Advance

© Memphis Tennis/R. AngleRadek Stepanek snapped a four-match losing streak on Wednesday.

Belgian Xavier Malisse brought a swift end to Andy Roddick's title defence at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, upsetting the No. 2 seed and three-time champion 7-6(8), 7-5 in first-round action Wednesday evening in Memphis.

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Roddick jumped out to a 2-0 start, but the lead proved short-lived as Malisse prompty got back on serve. He broke Roddick for a second time in the final game to pick up his first match win of the 2012 season (1-4).

"I hit the ball okay, I just didn’t hit it well when I had to," admitted Roddick, who fell to Malisse for the first time in 10 career meetings.

The loss marked Roddick's earliest in his 12 appearances at this ATP World Tour 500 tournament. Outside of his Memphis debut in 2001, when he bowed out in the second round (l. to Haas), he had reached the quarter-finals or better. He lifted the trophy in 2002, '09 and '11 and was runner-up in 2003 and '07.

Roddick has been slowed by injuries this season, retiring from his match at the Australian Open with a hamstring injury and spraining his right ankle last week in San Jose. 

"It’s frustrating, but at the same token, I had 9-10 years of pretty clean bill of health overall," he said. "I think for me to feel too sorry for myself now, it probably wouldn’t be okay. I know Mardy, for instance, had wrist surgeries in the middle of his career, 22, 23 years old, so I didn’t have that. It’s the first time I’m really dealing with anything significant."

Fourth seed Milos Raonic, who finished runner-up to Roddick last year, beat Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6(3). Coming off his second title of the season at the SAP Open, Raonic hit 15 aces, winning 84 per cent of his first serve points to win his opener in just under an hour and a half.

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"The match was good. I felt like I did the things I needed to," he said. "I don’t feel I played my best, but as the match progressed I got better and better, and really everything just went my way. I played the big points well and built from there. I’m happy to be able to get through and have another chance to play better tomorrow."

Third-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek snapped a four-match losing streak as he defeated American Bobby Reynolds 6-3, 6-2. The World No. 28, a Memphis finalist in 2009 (l. to Roddick), saved all four break points faced on serve, while capitalising on three of his six opportunities.

Olivier Rochus edged No. 5 seed Alex Bogomolov Jr. 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(5). Rochus dropped serve six times, but went five for 10 on his break point chances over the final two sets, prevailing in the tie-break after two hours and 17 minutes.
 
Austria’s Jurgen Melzer required a minute less to knock out San Jose runner-up Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(4). Former World No. 8 Melzer is making his fifth appearance in Memphis, but his first since 2008 when he lost to eventual champion Steve Darcis in the second round.

South African Kevin Anderson, the No. 7 seed, fired 19 aces and broke American Robby Ginepri once in each set to record a 7-5, 6-3 win in one hour and 15 minutes. Anderson will face another American, Sam Querrey, for a place in the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 tournament.

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