MASON, Ohio - Andy Roddick didn't know if it was the best shot he ever hit, or the luckiest. Either way, it set the stage for his second-round victory Wednesday over Nicolas Kiefer at the Tennis Masters Cincinnati tournament.
Roddick beat Kiefer for the third time in three weeks, this time 6-4, 6-4. His offbeat but brilliant passing shot tied the score at 30 in the seventh game, and he won the next two points for the service break he needed to take the opening set.
When Roddick went to the net after an extended exchange of baseline shots, Kiefer lifted a lob over his head. Roddick sprinted to the baseline, whirled and got his racket on the ball just before it hit the court.
When his shot down the line skipped out of the reach of Kiefer's forehand, Roddick raised both hands, palms up, to the crowd in a gesture that could only mean, "How did I do that?"
Roddick said he could only laugh at his good fortune when he saw the replay.
"I was going to go between my legs, but I couldn't get there in time. So I just flailed at it," Roddick said. "I didn't really see it, but I saw people clapping.
"It was probably the best shot I ever hit, or the luckiest. It felt pretty cool, but I didn't realize it was that drastic."
Earlier, Lleyton Hewitt beat unseeded Gustavo Kuerten, and Carlos Moya beat Ivan Ljubicic in the $2.5-million event after persistent, heavy rains delayed the start of the morning matches for more than four hours.
ROGERS CUP: Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova overcame some spotty serving and beat Kristina Brandi 6-1, 6-4 in her opening match in Montreal.
The sixth-seeded Sharapova advanced to a third-round meeting today with another of the many Russian players marking their mark on the WTA Tour these days - Vera Zvonareva, a straight-sets winner over Bethanie Mattek.
French Open champion and third-seeded Anastasia Myskina, playing with a sore leg, advanced with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Arantxa Parra Santonja. Fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva was upset 6-1, 6-4 by Gisela Dulko while eighth-seeded Nadia Petrova was beaten 6-4, 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 by Russian compatriot Elena Likhovtseva.
NORDIC LIGHT OPEN: Second-seeded Silvia Farina Elia beat qualifier Julia Schruff 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals in Stockholm, Sweden. Farina Elia also faced a qualifier in her opening match at the hard-court tournament. Schruff was treated for a sore thigh after the first set.
ET CETERA
SOCCER: Major League Soccer canceled a Sept. 22 exhibition game between its All-Stars and Real Madrid - featuring superstar David Beckham - because of scheduling problems. The Spanish League rescheduled games that made the original date impossible for Real Madrid, which proposed Aug. 31 as an alternative for the game, supposed to be played in Spain.
ARENA FOOTBALL: Ex-NFL linebacker Chris Spielman and his former Ohio State coach, Earle Bruce, are swapping jobs with the Columbus Destroyers. Spielman, who had been director of football operations, becomes coach and general manager and Bruce, who held the coach-GM posts, becomes vice president of football operations.
CYCLING: British cyclist David Millar was suspended for two years by the British Federation for a doping offense. An independent disciplinary panel imposed the suspension and took away his 2003 world-time trial title, according to a statement by the federation. He was also fined $1,600. French police raided Millar's home in Biarritz, France, in late June as part of a doping investigation into his pro team, Cofidis, and found two used syringes. Millar, 27, was barred from this summer's Tour de France, suspended by the his cycling federation and withdrew from the British Olympic team.
TELEVISION: Sports Illustrated is bringing its swimsuit competition to NBC with a six-episode reality series. A nationwide search will be conducted for finalists, who will live in Los Angeles, where they will compete for an appearance in the issue. The Sports Illustrated Fresh Faces Competition will air early next year.
