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  • Sony Ericsson Fourth Round: Andy Roddick vs. Julien Benneteau

    4/1/08 4:25 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Both Andy Roddick and Julien Benneteau have been on the brink of elimination in Miami, but that doesn't mean they aren't playing great tennis. It should be a high-quality, spirited affair when they meet in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open.

    It will be the fourth head-to-head meeting for Andy Roddick and Julien Benneteau when the two players face off in the fourth round of the Masters Series Miami on Tuesday night. Roddick holds a 2-1 advantage, having prevailed in straight sets at both the 2004 Masters Series Canada and the 2006 Australian Open. Benneteau, however, got revenge in thrilling fashion in Memphis later in 2006, winning 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).

    Benneteau is clearly the underdog in this contest, but he has been playing better and better as the Sony Ericsson Open has progressed and the Frenchman cannot be discounted. He came back from a 6-1 disaster in his opening set of the tournament against Rainer Schuettler to rout the German in sets two and three. Benneteau next outlasted big-serving Ivo Karlovic in a third-set tiebreaker before putting on an awesome display of tennis in a third-round upset of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

    Roddick cannot be taking anyone lightly anyway, as he barely scraped by his first match of the tournament against Viktor Troicki. The Serb had the match leveled at 4-4 in the third set before Roddick held serve and then broke to prevail 6-4. It wasn't a whole lot easier with unheralded Ivo Minar in round three. Roddick took the first set in a tiebreaker and had a break in the second set, but he squandered it by dropping serve at 4-3. The American, however, broke back and served out the match to take it in straight sets.

    Fans can expect another difficult test for Roddick in Benneteau. The Frenchman, who is especially adept in doubles, is tough to break thanks to a strong serve that he follows up with agressive, net-charging play. Benneteau has also been surprisingly solid from the baseline both in Miami and throughout 2008, so Roddick will have to play a complete, all-around game in order to advance. Expect Roddick to prevail thanks to his experience of playing in the latter stages of huge tournaments, but it will not be without a serious fight.

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