HOUSTON, 13 November 2003 — Andy Roddick underlined his determination to finish the year with the No. 1 world ranking on Tuesday, opening his account at the ATP Masters Cup with a feisty 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Spain’s Carlos Moya.
Playing his first match since a semifinal loss to Tim Henman last month in Paris, where he took possession of the top ranking, Roddick had looked poised for a routine return to competition but in the end needed a tense one hour and 35 minutes to secure his first Masters win.
The victory ends Wimbledon champion Roger Federer’s hopes of finishing the season in top spot, the battle for No. 1 now down to a two-way fight between Roddick and French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain.
Having spent the last week in New York rehearsing to host “Saturday Night Live”, Roddick was back on a more familiar stage and showed no signs of rust as he stormed through the first set to the delight of pop star girlfriend Mandy Moore who applauded her approval from the front row.
Any thoughts Roddick had of a quick evening, however, disappeared along with US Open champion’s composure in the second set. Serving at 0-1, Roddick flew into a red-faced rage on a disputed line call, losing his concentration and control of the match as Moya went on to break the 22-year-old American and jump back into the contest.
Earlier in the day in other Red Group action, Germany’s Rainer Schuettler survived an uneven performance on what he claims is an uneven court beating Guillermo Coria 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Woodbridge’s Record Bid Spoiled
by ATP Masters Cup Loss
Todd Woodbridge will have to wait until next year to try and break the ATP record for career doubles titles after being eliminated from the Masters Cup here Tuesday.
But now the 32-year-old Australian is in peak form for the Aussies’ Davis Cup final showdown with Spain at Melbourne later this month and he might just break the all-time win mark next January in his homeland.
Top-ranked American twins Bob and Mike Bryan saved two match points to beat Woodbridge and Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9), avenging a US Open finals loss and ousting the third-ranked losers from the season-ending event.
The Bryans joined Australian Open champions Fabrice Santoro and Michael Llodra of France in claiming a semifinal berth at the season-ending showdown of the year’s eight top doubles teams.
By winning, the Bryans stretched their ATP Champions Race lead to 64 points over the second-ranked duo of India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and Belarus’ Max Mirnyi, who must win the Masters Cup title to overtake the American twins.
Santoro and Llodra clinched a semifinal berth with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Czechs Martin Damm and Cyril Suk, but the Frenchmen nearly squandered a 6-0 tie-breaker edge, losing five points in a row before Llodra ended the tension with a backhand return winner.
