Roddick sees off Grosjean to progress in Madrid

MADRID, Oct 17 (Reuters) Sixth seed Andy Roddick took full advantage of his powerful serve to see off Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean 6-4 7-6 and move into the third round of the Madrid Masters tennis today.

The big American, who won the Masters Series event in Cincinnati in August and lost to Roger Federer in the final of the US Open, snapped up his only break point on his way to taking the first set.

It was level pegging in the second but Roddick used his serve to good effect to win the tie break, wrapping up victory with an ace.

He will face either Argentine Agustin Calleri or Czech Tomas Berdych in the third round.

Spain's Tommy Robredo, who captured the biggest title of his career when he won the Hamburg Masters in May this year, made the third round after a gritty 7-6 7-6 win over Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.

The world number eight fought his way back after early breaks against serve to force tie breaks in both sets and maintained his concentration on the key points as Chela lost his.

The 24-year-old became the first Spaniard to win in Madrid after first-round defeats for five of his compatriots including Carlos Moya, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez. He will now meet the winner of the match between Robby Ginepri and Mario Ancic.

RAIN DELAY Torrential overnight rain delayed the start of the morning matches after the roof in the Madrid Arena sprang a leak and organisers had to wait for workmen to lay out tarpaulin sheets to prevent more water getting on to the courts.

Frenchman Gael Monfils had to retire after sustaining an ankle injury while a set up in his match against Slovak Dominik Hrbaty.

The 20-year-old Monfils won the first set 6-3 and looked to be heading for a comfortable victory but turned his right ankle as he leapt across the back of the court following a point in the second set with the score at 2-2. He retired after 52 minutes of play.

It was the Frenchman's first tournament since he sustained a stress fracture in his left foot at the US Open where he lost in the second round to Wesley Moodie.

Hrbaty will now face the winner of tomorrow's match between defending champion and second seed Rafael Nadal and American Mardy Fish.

Top seed and world number Roger Federer begins his bid to win a 10th title of the year later today when he meets 2003 finalist Nicolas Massu of Chile.

Fourth seed David Nalbandian faces Julien Benneteau and wild card Tim Henman is up against 14th seed David Ferrer.

REUTERS DH VV2153