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Roddick wins third Clay Court title
Andy Roddick didn't take long to get back into winning form.
After missing three weeks with a wrist injury, Roddick easily handled weak-serving Sebastien Grosjean on Sunday, taking a quick 6-2, 6-2 victory for his 17th career title and third U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in five years.
Roddick, playing his first tournament since the injury forced him out of the ATP tournament at Key Biscayne, needed just 70 minutes to complete a run through the tournament field without losing a set.
With his wrist in a splint for 10 days, Roddick used the time off the court to do extra training and footwork. It paid off against Grosjean.
"I've never seen Andy play like that on clay, moving well, seeing the ball," Grosjean said. "His kick serve was pretty high. Even when I returned, he was hitting so well."
It was Roddick's fifth straight appearance in the clay court final, the longest streak on the ATP tour since Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov reached the title match at Moscow from 1996-01, winning the last five.
"I feel as good as I have," Roddick said. "I hit it (training) hard. A couple of weeks that I couldn't do much. I was just focusing a lot on off-court stuff and I felt it paid dividends this week. I felt I was moving really well.
"I don't think it's an accident. Gary Player said the harder you work, the luckier you get. I definitely put in a lot of hours."
Grosjean, who upset second-seeded Andre Agassi en route to the final, struggled with his serve from the start. He had to overcome triple break point in the opening game before holding serve. Then, he won only 16 points the rest of the set.
"I served better in the second set, but then I missed some easy shots," Grosjean said.
Roddick maintained control in the second set, although Grosjean put up more of a fight. Roddick broke Grosjean in the third game, chasing down a shot near the net and driving it down the line for a break. He broke Grosjean again in the fifth game on his opponent's forehand error.
In the eighth game of the set, Roddick served a love game for the match and won it on Grosjean's forehand error at the first match point.
"I felt I controlled it with forehands," Roddick said. "I was putting constant pressure on those points with that shot. He's the kind of guy you don't want him to get his feet in the trenches. you don't want him to get confidence. Luckily, I was able to get off to a good start."
Roddick won 64 percent of his first serves and 81 percent of his second serves.
"This week was totally unexpected, especially coming off an injury, but it was the best I've played here at Westside," Roddick said.
Top-seeded Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Daniel Nestor of Canada won their second doubles title of the year, beating South Americans Martin Garcia and Luis Horna 6-3, 6-4. They won at AMS Indian Wells and were second at Marseille.
Roddick earned $52,000, and Grosjean $30,600 for his first final since last June, when he lost to Roddick at Queens Club.
Roddick improved his record to 23-2 on the Westside clay, where he feels comfortable playing close to his home in Austin. "It's a different week for me," Roddick said. "It's something as simple as being able to drive to a tournament and have your friends and parents watch, that makes it something special. His next move, before going to Rome for the Italian Masters in early May, will be to go home for a rest. "The car is ready and I'll be home in two and one-half hours," he said.
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