Roddick has long known he'd excel on hard courts

WASHINGTON (AP) -Andy Roddick has known since early in his career this would be the time of year he'd excel.

This is when the tennis circuit moves to hard courts, leading up to the U.S. Open, adding zip to his serves and forehands, the foundations upon which his game is built.

His first quarterfinal at an ATP tournament came at age 17 on a hard court at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, and 14 of Roddick's 29 career titles came on the surface. Three titles came in Washington, where as the No. 2-seeded player he has a first-round bye. Roddick's first match this year is Tuesday night against Benjamin Becker or Grega Zemlja.

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On Monday, Igor Kunitsyn beat Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-3 in a match between qualifiers.

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