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  • Robredo, Cilic into Madrid second round

    10/14/08 3:42 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - Tommy Robredo and Marin Cilic take care of business on Monday at the Masters Series Madrid. Simone Bolelli also advances to the second round.

    Tommy Robredo d. Andreas Seppi 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3

    Robredo put the Spanish fans through some serious drama, but he came up clutch in the opening night session in Madrid. Neither man came close to breaking serve as the first set progressed to 5-5, at which point Robredo dropped serve to put himself in a huge hole. With the set seemingly in hand, Seppi promptly donated the break right back to his opponent and Robredo went on to steal the set in a tiebreaker. Throughout the second frame of play, however, the Italian's serve picked up considerably while Robredo's service percentage dipped to a costly level. One break turned out to be all Seppi needed to level the match. He consolidated that momentum until serving at 2-3 in the final set. Robredo, who lost just six points in his last five service games, broke for 4-2 and never looked back as he marched into the second round. Next up for Robredo is eighth-seeded Andy Roddick.

    Marin Cilic d. Olivier Rochus 6-3, 7-5

    Playing for the first time since the U.S. Open due to paralysis of a left facial nerve, Cilic wasted no time getting back into the swing of things. The 6'6'' Croat will have to raise his level and cut down on forehand errors in the next round against Fernando Verdasco, but for his first match back it was a good performance. Cilic broke at 4-3 the first and he lost just nine service points in in his first five service games as he served it out with ease for 6-4. Rochus, whose nine double-faults--and no aces--crushed his hopes, battled until 5-5 in the second, when his opponent's second break of serve proved decisive. Cilic, who smacked a whopping 10 aces in set two, promptly closed out the match in one hour and 39 minutes.

    Simone Bolelli d. Nicolas Almagro 7-6(4), 6-1

    Almagro fought hard in the opening frame of play despite going down an early break and he finally put things back on even terms after Bolelli served for the set at 5-4. After that, however, it was all Bolelli. The Italian put his failure to close out the set behind him and he turned it around with some stellar shot-making in the tiebreaker. Once the first set was lost for Almagro, the Spaniard completely went away. He seemed to be favoring his right shoulder and his serve lost significant speed, but it was probably more of a mental issue for him. Almagro quickly fell behind 5-0, but he held a meaningless service game before his opponent closed out the match in routine fashion. Bolelli, who will face No. 4 seed Andy Murray in the second round, fired six aces without a single double-fault.

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