SHANGHAI, China -- A day after narrowly escaping his second first-round exit in as many weeks, American Andy Roddick regained his form at the 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters with a straight-set victory over Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.
With the match tied at four games apiece in the first set, Roddick and Dimitrov exchanged breaks to pull even at 5-5, before holding serve to send the set to a tie breaker, where Roddick won the final four points to take the set.
After falling behind 0-2 in the second set, Roddick eventually pulled even at 4-4, breaking Dimitrov's serve in the eighth game, but gave the following game right back to the Bulgarian. Roddick then went on to break Dimitrov's serve two more times, taking the set and match.
"Play well, not play well, you get the same opportunity: you get to play again," offered Roddick, who will face seventh-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain in the third round. "There's no such thing as a bad win. I'll keep going in this tournament hopefully."
While Roddick advances to the round of 16, his fellow American, fifth-seeded Mardy Fish (pictured below), became the first top-ten player to be ousted in Shanghai, a casualty of up-and-coming Australian Bernard Tomic.
Down one-set-to-none, Tomic, 19, put together an impressive performance against the more-experienced Fish, coming back to win the final two sets and earn the win, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, avenging his loss to the American just five days earlier in Japan.
"He had his chance last week where he beat me and I thought I was going to get beaten again this week. Luckily I turned it around," explained Tomic. "It was a matter of who broke who in that third set."
In addition to Roddick and Fish, three other Americans took the court at the Shanghai Rolex Masters; Alex Bogomolov Jr. defeated Spain's Marcel Granollers, 6-2, 6-3, and Ryan Harrison (pictured below) bested Serbian Viktor Troicki, 6-3, 6-4, while Donald Young fell to Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (7-2), 2-6.
Bogomolov Jr. advances to face Spain's Feliciano Lopez, while Harrison will square off against Australia's Matthew Ebden.
Results from 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters, October 11, 2011
Kei Nishikori (Japan) def. Robin Haase (Netherlands) 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) def. Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 7-5
Feliciano Lopez (Spain) def. Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3)
Jurgen Melzer (Austria) def. Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) 6-4, 6-2
Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) def. Zhang Ze (China) 6-3, 6-3
Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine) def. Lukasz Kubot (Poland) 6-4, 7-6 (7-6)
Florian Mayer (Germany) def. David Nalbandian (Argentina) 6-3, 6-4
Albert Ramos (Spain) def. Marin Cilic (Croatia) 6-3, 6-4
Nicolas Almagro (Spain) def. Tommy Robredo (Spain) 7-5, 6-3
Milos Raonic (Canada) def. Michael Llodra (France) 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-6)
Gilles Simon (France) def. Albert Montanes (Spain) 6-1, 6-1
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.