Roddick triumphs at Memphis

TRIUMPHANT: Andy Roddick avenged a loss to Radek Stepanek as he regained the RMK Championship in Memphis on Sunday.

MEMPHIS: American top seed Andy Roddick claimed his first title of the season and a measure of revenge with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Czech Radek Stepanek in the final of the Memphis tennis championships on Sunday.

Roddick, who lost to Stepanek in the semifinals of the San Jose Open last week, ended his opponent’s bid for back-to-back titles when he converted on his second match point to clinch a 27th career title.

“A week ago (in San Jose) I felt like I was in control of the match but he played better when it counted on the big points,” Roddick told reporters.

“I played better today on the big points. Right now I’m looking at it as a process and it’s great to win a title.”

Great start

The champion in 2002 and runner-up in 2003 and 2007, Roddick got off to a bright start with an early break to race 3-0 ahead on his way to securing the opening set, the first taken from Stepanek all week.

In the second set, both players held serve throughout, Roddick saving two break points at 15-40 in the ninth game and one more break point in the 11th game with one of his eight aces.

Leading 6-5 and Stepanek serving to stay in the match, Roddick set up a triple match point and while the fifth seed was able to stave off the first, the 26-year-old American sealed victory on his next attempt.

Ninth title

At Buenos Aires, Spain’s Tommy Robredo won his second successive tournament when he beat Argentina’s Juan Monaco 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5) in the final of the Copa Telmex.

The third seed followed up last week’s win in Costa da Sauipe, Brazil, by clinching his ninth ATP title.

“I am very happy for having won back-to-back titles for the first time in my career,” said the World No. 17. “I trained hard to be able to play well in consecutive weeks.”

Robredo earned the opening set’s only service break in the 11th game, but lost momentum following a 90-minute rain break after the first game of the second set.

Unseeded Monaco, who beat top seed David Nalbandian on Saturday, took advantage to break serve three times in a row and level the match.

Both players broke serve twice in the third set before Robredo squandered two break points at 5-5.

The set went to a tie-break, which the Spaniard clinched with his fourth match point.

The results:

At Memphis (ATP RMK Championship): Final: Andy Roddick bt Radek Stepanek 7-5, 7-5.

At Buenos Aires (ATP Copa Telmex): Final: Tommy Robredo bt Juan Monaco 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5)

At Bogota (WTA Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas): Final: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez bt Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-2. — Agencies Hindu