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Next up for Roddick is a meeting with 13th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon, who barely broke a sweat in taking down Russian qualifier Igor Kunitysn, 6-1, 6-2.



"I accomplished what I wanted to get back to playing clean tennis, things that don't show up in the stat sheet but that win matches," Roddick said. "I can improve a little but I got what I wanted out of the match. It was a good opportunity to find some rhythm, get my feet under me, get into the tournament and the summer. When I move the ball well and get my teeth into points, that's a solid match."

The 15th-seeded Fish ran his winning streak to 11 matches with a relatively routine 6-4, 6-3 win over Serbian Viktor Troicki in one hour, 24 minutes. It was Fish's first match since he edged Isner, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4), in last month's Atlanta Tennis Championships final.

The 35th-ranked Fish will take a significant step up in class when he faces fourth-seeded Marin Cilic for a spot in the quarterfinals. Australian Open semifinalist Cilic crushed Denis Istomin, 6-4, 6-2.

The evening session got off to a late start due to a long three-setter between Fernando Verdasco and Michael Berrer in which Verdasco, on the brink of suffering his fourth loss in his last five matches, fought off two match points in the second set to prevail, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(6).

"I was just trying to play my best to the end," a relieved Verdasco said. "Even match points down I was just trying to put the ball in and make him put the ball in. I got a little lucky."

There was some question whether Verdasco would even finish the tie breaker when he went down at 6-5 lunging for a drop shot.  He immediately grabbed for his ankle and even removed his shoe.  It will be interesting to see how the injury affects him in his third round match-up against Ryan Sweeting.   

American qualifier Sweeting followed up his first-round win over James Blake by saving nine of 12 break points to dismiss 14th-seeded Frenchman Michael Llodra, 6-4, 6-2, in 63 minutes.

The second-seeded Roddick was not overpowering against the World No. 111 Zemlja, who came into the match with very little track record aside from becoming the first Slovenian to win a singles match in a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open in May. 

Instead of blowing his inexperienced opponent off the court, Roddick played a rather calculated match, choosing consistency over shot-making.  His balls did not have their usual zip and, in fact, he was out-aced 8-4 by Zemlja.  Roddick appeared to be content to trade ground strokes, waiting for Zemlja to make the error.  The crowd wanted to get behind Roddick but they had little to get excited about.  One had the impression that he was simply trying to groove his strokes in preparation for later rounds. 

After the match Roddick confirmed that his game was a bit "antsy" in Atlanta when he was broken once in suffering a semifinal setback to former Boca Raton housemate Fish. Roddick said he and his coach, Larry Stefanki, decided that he should try to "calm down and focus on playing clean tennis."  

Roddick’s conservative play and preference for the slice backhand was also designed for Zemlja, who prefers playing off pace. 

"I didn’t know much about the guy but I heard that he liked the ball straight through…to use the pace," said Roddick. "I was basically basing my strategy on a stereotype of that area of the world and the types of players that it produces."

It's been said you can't win a tournament in the opening round, but you can lose it in the first round. In that sense, it’s hard to argue with a win, but Roddick did not have the look of a champion tonight as he played conservative tennis.  Perhaps warmer weather later this week will stoke the flames in his game.  

The last match of the evening featured the No. 5 seed Isner against up-and-comer Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands. Breaking Isner's serve on a fast hard court is as easy as leaping the Washington Monument in a single bound, but because he struggles to break serve himself, poor Isner is an absolute lightning rod for tie breaks.  With a serve so big and erratic ground strokes, there is a gravitational pull to 6-6 whenever he takes the court.  

Tonight was no exception. 

Despite dominant serving, Isner could only generate one break point in the match.  His forehand was a little off and the style of play seemed to favor de Bakker who looked pumped up and confident.  He used a wide array of shots, even successfully drop-shotting Isner a few times in a match that was a rematch of the Wimbledon second round that saw de Bakker beat a depleted Isner, who was coming off his 70-68 win over Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history. 

Once the sets reached tie breaks, however, Isner’s clutch serving was the difference-maker. 

The confines of the court could not contain Isner's titanic serve. In the second set tiebreak, he delivered three gigantic ace bombs that actually bounced up into the stands —  all on critical points.  The 7-6(6), 7-6 (8) victory improved Isner’s Legg Mason record to 12-3 overall and 14-6 in tie breaks. 

"It wasn’t pretty out there," said Isner. "The only thing that kept me in it was the way I competed."

This is Isner’s fourth Legg Mason appearance.