Andy Falls in Memphis February 24th, 2006 11:09 pm By Andyroddick.com Staff In what has become his customary evening time slot, Andy fell short in his third night match at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championship tonight, defeated by Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-3, 4-6, 6-7. Keeping in form with exciting matches (the tie breaker marathon with pal Mardy Fish, and three set rollercoaster against Wayne Arthurs), tonight’s thrilling quarterfinal was yet another Memphis crowd pleaser. Andy started the match on his serve and immediately faced pressure from Benneteau who forced Andy early to save two break points for the hold. Andy wasn’t able to block Benneteau’s second attack in the third game and fell 1-2. Julien’s four aces and 92% first serve percentage was not aiding Andy’ s cause to break back. However, a willing Roddick capitalized on his third break point opportunity in the sixth game and leveled the set at 3 all. He then responded with a decisive hold and his first ace of the match to take the lead again at 4-3. While Benneteau was still shocked at his lost lead, Andy struck again, breaking the Frenchman, earning the opportunity to serve out the set. Benneteau didn’t give up the game easily, but Andy was able to seal the first set 6-3. Andy has proved in Memphis that his game successfully extends well beyond his infamous serve, as only two aces contributed to the first set victory. After forty minutes of play, the second set was under way on Center Court. Both players began by comfortably holding serve. Andy applied pressure to Benneteau’s weakening first serve in the third game, but Benneteau was able to fight off the break. Andy left little room for Julien to attack, and leveled the match at 2 a piece. Looking to take the evenings festivities into three sets, Benneteau held on for 3-2. Andy, however, was hoping for an early night and decisively held for 3 all. In a burst of momentum, Andy won the first three points on Benneteau’s serve. The clever Frenchman countered with four consecutive points of his own, and eventually moving the set along on serve 4-3. With a tie breaker looming in the near future, Andy put the peddle to the metal in the eighth game, settling the score to 4 all. Benneteau held for 5-4 and then laid into Andy, earning three set points. Andy was able to save the first two, but Benneteau capitalized on the third, taking the second set, 6-4. If you had any fingernails at the beginning of this tournament, Andy has since assured that you share his nail biting habit. The third set kicked off a little under an hour and a half into the match. Benneteau launched with a hold and threatened the early break, but Andy was able to fight off two break points for 1-1. The third was a battle to the finish, both holding strong to 4 all. With Andy serving 4-5, everyone neared the edge of their seats. An unfortunate double fault, and only his second in the match, saw Andy down 15-30, but he endured the pressure and brilliantly fought for 5 all. Benneteau held at love for the 6-5 lead. For Andy, it was now a tie break or an early flight to Vegas. The poker tables would have to wait, as Andy fought from a 0-30 deficit to send the match into a third set tiebreaker. Julien started the breaker on his serve and took the first point. Andy gave up a mini break with a double fault but was able got on the board at 1-2. The Frenchman broke to a strong 5-2 lead and eventually earned himself three match points at 6-3. Andy was able to save the first, but fell short on the second. His week in Memphis ended in the tie-break 4-7. Andy next heads to Vegas for The Tennis Channel Open. http://www.andyroddick.com/andy-falls-in-memphis/ -- "I'm not trying to hide from Federer. The more we play, THE BETTER." -Ivan Ljubicic --

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