TENNIS in DEPTH.

Serbian sixth seed Janko Tipsarevic also advanced, winning an epic marathon tie-breaker and a lopsided one to eliminate Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (16/14), 7-6 (7/1) despite 18 aces from the Croatian, who lost in last year’s final. Tipsarevic will next face Slovenian qualifier Blaz Kavcic, who eliminated Colombia’s Robert Farah 6-1, 6-4.

Mardy Fish needed only 20 minutes to reach the second round of the $442,500 ATP Delray Beach International Championships when German rival Bjorn Phau retired. Fish led 5-0 and had dropped only six points in Tuesday’s match, breaking Phau twice before the German halted the match, advancing the American into a second-round meeting with Brazil’s Ricardo Mello. South African fifth seed Kevin Anderson rallied to beat US lucky loser Donald Young 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 after two hours and 30 minutes, booking a second-round match against Frenchman Florent Serra.

In the night match, Juan Martin del Potro easily beat Richard Berankis 6-4, 6-1 to advance. Del Potro, of Argentina, won 79 percent of his first serves, converted 80 percent (four of five) of his break-point chances and kept his double faults to a minimum (two) in the 76-minute match. Japan’s Kei Nishikori also opened with a victory, downing Argentina’s Brian Dabul 6-2, 7-6 (7/5). He will next face US wild card James Blake, who ousted German seventh seed Benjamin Becker on Monday.

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Daniela Hantuchova proved her recent title win in Pattaya was no fluke as she fought back from a break down in the final set to knock sixth seed Victoria Azarenka out of the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha. Hantuchova, whose triumph in Thailand was her first in more than four years, showed plenty of spirit as she battled back from dropping the first set to win the first round clash 4-6 6-1 6-2.

Azarenka was the only seed to fall on day two although Dubai finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova suffered a surprisingly one-sided 6-2 6-4, 80-minute defeat to Israel’s eighth seed Shahar Peer. Fifth seed Jelena Jankovic beat wild card Falma Al Nabhani of Oman 6-1 6-3, Dominika Cibulkova edged past Jarmila Groth in a marathon final set tie-break, and Vera Dushevina and Flavia Pennetta were also winners.

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The 20-year-old from Thornhill, who lost a hard-fought final against Andy Roddick on Sunday in Memphis, jumped 22 places to reach No. 37 — the highest Canadian men’s singles ranking ever. He finished 2010 at No. 156.

Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino, meanwhile, vaulted 20 places to No. 60 in the WTA rankings. The 20-year-old reached Saturday’s final in Memphis but, down a set to Magdalena Rybarikova, retired with an abdominal strain.

Raonic was beaten 7-6 (7), 6-7 (11), 6-4 by Roddick, who stayed at No. 8 in the world but pulled out of this week’s event in Boca Raton, Fla. Roddick, who has been battling the flu, said he woke up Monday and “felt like I got hit by a bus. My bed was soaking wet from sweat. It’s just unfortunate timing.” Raonic earned $122,000 U.S. in Memphis, a week after winning his first pro title in San Jose. His match record is 12-3.

Next, Raonic heads to Mexico, where he is a wild-card entry.

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Novak Djokovic began his bid for a third straight Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title, beating world no.27 Michael Llodra 6-3, 6-3 in 63 minutes in the first round of the ATP World Tour 500 event.

Two breaks in the first and a break in the second set were enough for Nole to defeat the Frenchman for the second time in their three meetings. Novak hit 4 aces to Llodra’s 1, and made 1 double fault. The Serb converted 3 of his 4 break point opportunities, while the Frenchman didn’t use any of his 3 chances for break. Djokovic won 61 points to Llodra’s 42.

The world no.3 will next play against the winner of the match between Spaniard Feliciano Lopez and Tawainese Yen-Hsun Lu.

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The eighth-ranked American complained of feeling ill before winning the Memphis title over Milos Raonic 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 on Sunday. It was the 30th career title for Roddick, who struggled to overcome mononucleosis throughout the second half of 2010. “I woke up yesterday and felt like I got hit by a bus,” Roddick said Monday while coughing throughout a press conference at Delray Beach. “I woke up this morning and my bed was soaking wet from sweat. It’s just unfortunate timing. “I honestly don’t feel like I can go out there and give it my best. I need to get better before I can play again.”

“I’m very disappointed,” he said. “I’ve waited too long to come back and play this tournament. But with traveling internationally (for Davis Cup) and Palm Springs and Miami coming up on that, it’s just unfortunate timing for this sickness.” Roddick is scheduled to lead the U.S. Davis Cup team into the first round against Chile in Santiago next week. He was planning on heading home to Austin, Texas, to see the doctors who treated him while he had mono.

The top four seeds in the Delray Beach tournament were all Americans, with Roddick followed by 2009 champion Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey and John Isner. Qualifier Marinko Matosevic of Australia took Roddick’s spot in the draw and will face Dudi Sela of Israel in the first round. The third-seeded Querrey moved into the second round with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win over Dustin Brosn of Germany. Querrey, who is also scheduled to head to Chile next week as part of the U.S. Davis Cup team, was concerned about a shoulder problem following his match. “My shoulder was a little sore so I was lacking some pop on my serve,” he said. “I was just happy to get through it.” Florent Serra of France defeated American wildcard Ryan Harrison 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in another first round match.

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Seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska was an early casualty in the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha when she slumped to a 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 defeat to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.

In other first round action, unseeded Russian Nadia Petrova was a comfortable 6-4 6-2 winner over Roberta Vinci of Italy.

Marion Bartoli also beat Alisa Kleybanova of Russia in straight sets, 7-5 6-2.

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The ATP has warned players about security concerns at its tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, and has been reassured by Mexican officials that steps are being taken to improve safety conditions. The Mexican Open begins Monday as a combined ATP and WTA event and is the largest tournament in Latin America.

The Pacific resort city has been hit by a wave of drug violence in Mexico, although little of the violence happens in tourist areas. In January, the bodies of 14 men with their heads chopped off were found outside a shopping centre. A 15th body with its head intact was also found nearby. The ATP, in a statement sent to the Associated Press, said it had received assurances from all levels of the Mexican government. “Following an independent security assessment and discussions with tournament organizers, we are satisfied that responsible measures are being taken, and that the event has the full support of the authorities of Acapulco, the state of Guerrero, and the Mexican federal government,” the statement said. Players have received emails from the ATP about the situation, cautioning them about going out and suggesting they stay near their hotel. It’s also been suggested they arrive as late as possible and leave once eliminated.

Tournament organizers have played down the security concerns, pointing out that the International Olympic Committee held its executive board meeting in October in the coastal resort. David Nalbandian of Argentina said Saturday he was thinking about withdrawing. He said he also had a groin injury and may decide to rest for Argentina’s Davis Cup match March 4-6 against Romania. “It’s a great and enjoyable tournament to play,” said Nalbandian, who was beaten on Saturday by Tommy Robredo in the quarter-finals of the Copa Claro in Buenos Aires. “But for right now it’s a little more difficult because of the security situation. We (players) are a bit scared about this and we’re trying to decide what to do.”

Defending men’s champion David Ferrer arrived several days ago in Acapulco. “I didn’t have any fear about returning here,” he told reporters. Ferrer won the final last year against fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has withdrawn citing an injury.

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Andy Roddick finally overcame Canadian Milos Raonic 7-6 (9-7) 6-7 (11-13) 7-5 to bag a third title in Memphis at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. Roddick edged a tight opening tie-break before the 20-year-old wildcard, fresh from his ATP title win in San Jose, hit back to level in a mammoth tie-breaker. The American led 4-1 in the decider but Raonic dished up a 32nd ace to help survive a match point and make it 5-5. Roddick stayed cool to come through in a match lasting two hours, 36 minutes. It was an epic encounter and their first together as the 28-year-old Roddick eventually battled to victory in the $1.1m ATP Tour event he last won two years ago.

He was facing a man in red-hot form who last week became the first Canadian in 16 years to claim an ATP singles title when he won the SAP Open in San Jose. It was a result that steered Raonic up 25 places to a career-high ranking of 59th. On Sunday, after the pair shared two almighty tie-breaks, it appeared the Yugoslavia-born right-hander had met his match with Roddick cruising in the third set when leading 4-1.

But Raonic was having none of it and two service holds and a break later, the match was all level again. After wasting one match point at 5-4, Roddick finally completed the triumph in his 50th ATP World Tour final.

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