On a rainy, chilly day at Roland Garros, Roddick endured two delays and difficult conditions to defeat Blaz Kavcic 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
The damp weather took some zip off Roddick’s biggest weapon, and for much of the match he was dueling from the baseline on his worst surface. But Roddick has become a more patient player in recent months, and he willingly settled into rallies that often lasted more than two dozen shots.
Roddick hadn’t played a match on clay this year when he arrived in Paris, but he’s now above .500 lifetime at Roland Garros — 9-8.
No. 4 Andy Murray beat Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2. American John Isner, seeded 17th, hit 38 aces and defeated Marco Chiudinelli 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7), 6-4.
In a match that took two days to complete, Fabio Fognini beat No. 13 Gael Monfils of France 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 9-7. The match was suspended because of darkness Wednesday at 5-all in the fifth set.
Sixteen singles matches were postponed, including those involving Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, meaning they won’t play their second-round matches until at least Friday — the sixth day of the tournament. Nadal faces Horacio Zeballos, Djokovic plays Kei Nishikori, and Williams takes on Julia Goerges.
Twenty doubles matches were also postponed.
Roddick’s match looked like a mismatch on paper — the 112th-ranked Kavcic has won a single tour-level match this year — but the weather and clay were equalizers.
The No. 6-seeded Roddick lost 48 points serving, but despite his trouble holding, he seemed in control when he broke for a 4-3 lead in the second set. He promptly gave the break back, and rain halted play with Kavcic serving at 5-all, love-15.
When the match resumed nearly an hour later, Roddick lost eight consecutive points and the set to even the match.
As Roddick’s mood soured, he snapped at the umpire and at Kavcic.
“That’s a horrible read,” he said after the umpire rejected his appeal on a line call. “I know how to look at a mark and read it.”
The crowd jeered Roddick.
During later disputes about two marks in the same game, Roddick and Kavcic exchanged words.
“Don’t get upset with me when you just checked that one,” Roddick said.
But the American displayed patience at the baseline, as he mixed drop shots and lobs with conservative groundstrokes.
A rally that put him up a break in the fourth set lasted 39 shots and left a weary Kavcic bent over. The fresher-looking Roddick swept the final four games.
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