Andy Roddick was given a brief scare before he secured a 6-3 7-6 4-6 6-3 first round victory over Jeremy Chardy at Wimbledon.
American taken to four sets by Frenchman
Sixth seed Andy Roddick was given a brief scare before he secured a 6-3 7-6 4-6 6-3 victory over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the first round at Wimbledon.
Roddick, twice a former finalist at SW19, had been a doubt for the tournament after sustaining an ankle injury at Queen's Club, but showed no clear sign of pain in a less than convincing victory over the world number 41 on Centre Court.
The American showed glimpses of his best as he raced into a two-set lead before Chardy clawed one back courtesy of a break in game nine of the third set.
The Frenchman struggled with his footing at times in the fourth and Roddick, who only hit nine unforced errors and hit 46 winners, including 20 aces, sealed victory when Chardy's forehand rippled the net.
Speaking after the match Roddick admitted that having previous experience on Centre Court played a significant part in his win.
Nervous
"Every year is different, you're not getting wins on finals played five and six years ago," he said.
"But that being said, I think it just helps. Little things like going out on Centre Court, it's not going to be my first time.
"I feel like I got out a couple of early breaks (today), maybe he (Chardy) was a little more nervous than I was. Subtle things like that help. At this point in my career, I'm not going to face many new scenarios so maybe that's a good thing."
The number six seed will face Igor Kunitsyn for a place in the third round after the unseeded Russian overcame Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
Two other seeds safely into the second round are number 16 David Ferrer and number 26 Jurgen Melzer of Austria.
Ferrer dropped a set before prevailing a 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-2 victor over America's Kevin Kim, while Melzer powered to a 6-1 6-4 6-2 win over Wayne Odesnik.
