Roddick halted by bad light
Number two seed Andy Roddick could not see off the challenge of Italian Daniele Bracciali before bad light called an end to his match on Centre Court, with the American leading by two sets to one.
The American, runner-up here last year, looked to be cruising to a straight-forward victory after securing a 7-5 6-3 lead in the final match of the day.
However, Bracciali – who shrugged off an elbow injury to continue playing - performed much better in the third set, forcing the tie-break, which he eventually won 7-3.
With rain forecast tomorrow, Roddick could be in for a long wait before he gets the chance to secure a place in the last 32.
The first set had gone with serve until, at 6-5 up, when the big-hitting American finally forced a break to take the initiative in the match.
By now it was gone 7:30pm, and the light on Centre Court was beginning to fade.
Roddick, however, showed little signs of easing the pressure, again booming down a succession of serves which topped an average of 130mph.
To his credit, Bracciali – ranked 120 in the world – produced a range of groundstrokes aimed at countering the American’s power game, and got some joy early in the second set.
Normal service, though, was soon resumed, and in the third game, Roddick forced two break points, securing the second when Bracciali’s cross-court return was wide and he led 3-1.
After both men held their next service games to love, the Italian, now 5-2 down, needed treatment on an elbow problem during the change of ends.
Bracciali qualified as a lucky loser and beat promising Croatian Ivo Karlovic in the first round.
And the 27-year-old battled through the pain barrier to hold his serve again, and then saved one set point, before another booming serve followed by a well-placed forehand down the right secured the ninth game for the American.
The third set went with serve, as Bracciali again mixed up the baseline rallies as well as coming into the net to good effect.
Roddick levelled at 5-5, but his opponent also then produced some hard-hitting serves, so the set would have to be decided on a tie-break.
With it fast approaching nine o’clock, the number two seed needed something special to ensure he would not have o finish the job off tomorrow.
But it was Bracciali who took the initiative, moving 3-0 ahead following an early break.
Roddick pulled back to 3-3, but then again lost his serve and the Italian secured the set, after which play was suspended because of bad light.
