By Chris Soderstrom
British No. 1 Andy Murray became the second debutant to record an opening victory at the Shanghai Masters overnight, defeating Andy Roddick in a seesawing encounter.
Murray experienced a lapse of concentration in the second set before soaring back and finishing Roddick 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.
“I hit the ball well for most of the match,” said the 21-year-old from Dunblane. “[I] had a chance to break him right at the start of the second [set]. If I’d done that, then maybe second set would have been a different story.
“I felt like I played well. Legs don’t quite have the snap in them that they did a few months ago. But I’ll try and do my best to recover for the next match.”
Having enjoyed a career-best season with five titles - second in the ATP Tour to Nadal with eight- the World No. 4 improved his head-to-head record against Roddick to 5-2.