Seventh seeded American Andy Roddick defeated the shotmaking Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Roddick converted only 4 of 18 break point opportunities and at the same time he survived 83 winners from Gonzalez’s racquet. Roddick kept a steady mental effort throughout the match and it paid dividends for him at the end of the fourth set. At Gonzalez serving 5-6, 40-love in the 4th set, everyone in the world was preparing for an exciting tiebreak except for Andy Roddick. He continued to scratch and claw and eventually the set was decided by a controversial challenge call that ended up in Roddick’s favor. After a quick hold in the first game of the fifth set, Roddick broke Gonzalez immediately and the steam from the charismatic Chilean was all but gone.

FUTURE OUTLOOK: Roddick survived periods in which Gonzalez completely dominated play from the baseline with experience and veteran savvy. Look for this to continue in the next round against Croatian Marin Cilic who was a 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 survivor in an epic round of 16 match against 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro. Roddick will need a similar mental attitude and his steady game from the baseline to disrupt the young Croat’s all around game. Also, watch for Roddick’s health in the next couple of days, as it seems as though his knee injury from 2009 continues to linger. More action from Australia in just a few hours!