Roddick holds on to avoid upset at US Open

NEW YORK - His ranking down, his health a question mark much of the season, Andy Roddick figures nothing will come easily at the U.S. Open. Roddick held on to avoid a first-round upset Wednesday night at the Grand Slam tournament he won in 2003, beating 96th-ranked Michael Russell 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. "Wasn't pretty," the 21st-seeded Roddick said. "I'm certainly not fooling myself by thinking that was worthy of a championship performance, by any means. But, you know, I don't know if I would expect that." Story continues below ↓ advertisement | your ad here Not all that long ago, Roddick wasn't even sure whether he'd be able to enter the U.S. Open because of a torn abdominal muscle. He was helped by a 13-0 edge in aces in the all-American matchup against Russell. "I'm trying to get my form there, I promise you," Roddick said. "You know, a lot of people, when they're coming back, do it on the side courts. I just have an audience." After breezing through the first two sets against Russell, Roddick began to run into trouble in the third, and then fell behind by a break in the fourth. "I had the momentum. I felt Andy was getting a little bit frustrated. He was missing a lot of returns. I mean, the crowd was starting to get into it," Russell said.   Slideshow