Confident Murray out to be big in Japan

FRESH from his title win in Thailand, a relaxed and confident Andy Murray arrived in Tokyo for the Japan Open, where he is seeded No 2 and will face a testing opener against Marcos Baghdatis today.

The tournament got under way yesterday and fourth-seeded Mardy Fish of the United States defeated fellow American Ryan Harrison 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in their first-round match. Fish relied on his serve-and-volley game to outlast his compatriot in a battle that took two hours, 44 minutes at Ariake Colosseum.

Harrison put up a valiant fight, displaying a blistering forehand throughout the match, but leading 5-4 in the final set he saw Fish win his service game to level, then was broken in the next game. Fish closed out the match on serve with a forehand winner after Harrison had staved off two match points. Fish prevailed despite committing a high number of unforced errors in the contest.

Fish was impressed by his 19-year-old opponent, who had to qualify for the main draw. “He’s a strong player and I think he will be a top player in the future,” he said.

Earlier, seventh-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic beat Somdev Devvarman of India 6-4, 6-3. Top seed Rafael Nadal, the defending champion in the $1.2 million event, will take on wild card Go Soeda of Japan in his first-round match today. In Beijing, sixth seed Andy Roddick was sent packing by South African Kevin Anderson 6-4 7-5 in the first round of the men’s draw.

“I didn’t serve very well. It was unacceptable,” Roddick told a tense post-match news conference. The 29-year-old American then snapped at a Chinese reporter who asked him if he was considering retiring. “I think you should retire,” he said before abruptly leaving the media room.

World No  1 Caroline Wozniacki fared better in her first-round match, withstanding a tenacious challenge from Lucie Hradecka to open the defence of her China Open title with a 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 victory. The top-seeded Dane struggled to find her rhythm against the powerful Czech’s serve in the first set and was forced into a nail- biting decider against the world No  49.

“It wasn’t a pretty match, but I’m through,” she said. “She’s serving at 200 kilometres per hour, so when it’s on, it’s difficult. But, in the second set, her first serve percentage dropped, and that made it easier for me to start the rallies.”

The 21-year-old, who was crowned world No  1 at this event a year ago but who has struggled for form recently, said maintaining her top ranking was paramount. “If you’ve been No 1 pretty much the whole year, you want to finish there as well.”