Roddick overpowers Seppi in third round

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former champion Andy Roddick used an overwhelming serve to power past Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-2 7-5 7-6 on Sunday and reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open.

The eighth-seeded Roddick, who dropped his serve for the only time in the fifth game of the third set, broke back against Seppi in the 10th game and captured the deciding tiebreak 7-4 after two forehand errors by his 31st-ranked opponent.

Roddick, whose 2003 Open victory is the last grand slam singles triumph by an American man, hammered in 73 percent of his first serves, including 19 aces, hitting a top speed of 140 mph (225 kph).

The American said getting into form after recovering from shoulder tendonitis that forced him to skip the French Open and post mixed results in the run-up to the Open.

"For the first time in a little while, I feel like I'm match tough," said Roddick, who swept the first 15 points on his serve in the second set.

"I've gotten in some tough moments here and played my way out of them pretty good, so that's a good sign.'

Roddick, who missed the Olympics so he could rehabilitate his shoulder and his game, passed a difficult 3-6 7-5 6-2 7-5 test in the second round against big-hitting Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.

"You're always moving in one of two directions," Roddick said. "And I'm going in the right one right now."