Roddick advances to Atlanta quarterfinals

1:21 AM, Jul 19, 2012   |    comments
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ATLANTA (AP) -- Fourth-seeded Andy Roddick beat Nicolas Mahut of France 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the second round of the Atlanta Open on Wednesday night after rain delayed the tournament 41/2 hours.

Roddick, who will play either No. 5 seed Kevin Anderson or Michael Russell in the quarterfinals, broke Mahut in the ninth game of the tiebreaker and held serve to win the set.

The victory avenged Mahut's four-set victory at the French Open on May 27. It  was Roddick's earliest exit from a Grand Slam tournament since 2007 and his first loss to Mahut in five career matches.
 
No. 1 seed John Isner and No. 2 seed Mardy Fish, Atlanta's two-time defending champion, will play their second-round matches on Thursday.

No. 3 seed Kei Nishikori was to play late Wednesday.