World number seven Andy Roddick cruised his way into the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International after beating 22-year old Carsten Ball 7-6 (0), 6-3 victory.
The top seed complimented his opponent’s huge service game, which is quite similar to his style of play.
“He serves huge. It was tough for me early on to get a read on it. I expected a tough one today, and it really was. It’s not as much fun when it’s flipped,” he said. Up next for the American is French player Richard Gasquet.
Last year’s champion Radek Stepanek overcame a tough challenge from Ukrainian qualifier Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr. and won 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-2. The second seed will next face USA’s Wayne Odesnik, a winner of Alejandro Falla of Colombia.
Other winners include Gael Monfils and James Blake, who had to scrape his way to the quarterfinals by surviving three match points in the tiebreaker to beat Marc Gicquel 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6).
“Hard work but a fun result. Sometimes these are the best feelings, to tough it out. I felt like I scrapped and competed really hard,” Blake said.
