Andy Roddick recorded his first title win of the season at the Brisbane International after he ousted defending champion Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 76 76 on Sunday.
The American, the tournament’s top seed, was sidelined for several months due to a knee injury. The injury cost him his participation at the year-end ATP World Tour Finals in London.
The world number seven won the first set on a tiebreak because all games had gone with serve. In the second, he built a comfortable 5-1 lead before his opponent started to make a comeback which led to another tiebreak. Fighting off his nerves, Roddick emerged victorious despite wasting five match points in the tiebreak.
The Brisbane title is Roddick’s 28th career title. He will be heading to Melbourne this week to prepare for the Australian Open which begins on January 18.
