It was a good day for seeds in the men’s draw at the Australian Open, with Andy Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic and Gaston Gaudio all progressing into the round of 32.
Roddick, the No 2 seed and 2003 US Open champion, appeared to be gathering momentum as he made only nine unforced errors in defeating Wesley Moodie, the South African, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.
“I knew Wesley was just going to come out and really take it to me, be aggressive and try to get in as much as possible,” Roddick said.
“Luckily for me I played three matches, including Kooyong, before this where I got to hit some balls. So I wasn’t expecting a lot of rhythm out there today.”
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Ljubicic, the No 7 seed, had little trouble against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, winning 7-5, 6-2, 6-1. Gaudio, the No 8 seed, was similarly unruffled by another German, Lars Burgsmuller, breezing to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Among other seeded players, Ljubicic’s Croatian compatriot Mario Ancic, the No 18, defeated Jan Hernych 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, and David Ferrer, the No 11, overcame a short-lived comeback by Daniele Bracciali to prevail 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.
Robby Ginepri, the American No 13 seed, led by two sets and 3-0 in the third only to fall apart, eventually losing 2-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to Denis Gemelmayr. Radek Stepanek, the No 17, was the other seed to fall, losing 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 0-6, 7-5 to Marcos Baghdatis.