Associated Press

Houston, April 21:

Top-seeded Andy Roddick defeated Robby Ginepri 7-6, 6-4 to enter the quarter-finals of the US Men’s Clay Court Championships. Roddick extended his record to 5-0 over Ginepri, but this match wasn’t a runaway as neither player lost his serve en route to the first set tiebreaker. All of Roddick’s victories over fellow American Ginepri have been close; four of their last six sets have been decided by tiebreakers. Roddick had a 6-3 lead in the tiebreaker before Ginepri tied it at 6-6 and then hit consecutive errors, giving Roddick the first set. Roddick broke Ginepri in the first and fifth games of the second set, but still had to battle to the end. Ginepri escaped two match points in the ninth game to hold serve, but Roddick then served for the match and sealed the outcome with an overhead on the third match point. In other second-round matches, seventh-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer outlasted Noam Okun of Israel 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. Melzer overcame five break points in the first game of the third set and broke Okun in the 12th game, on the third match point. Defending champion Tommy Haas of Germany beat American Jeff Morrison 7-6, 6-2. Morrison took a 3-2 lead in the tiebreaker with a between-the-legs shot that Haas sent beyond the baseline. Haas then closed out the tiebreaker and broke Morrison in the third and fifth games of the second set. Morrison escaped a match point in the sixth game, but Haas ended it on the third match point with an ace.