Rusedski Sets Up Clash With Roddick

The all-conquering, all new Greg Rusedski road show, having taken Nottingham by storm last week, continued apace on Wimbledon's No1 court with the British No2 completing his sixth consecutive victory, a run of success which would have seemed quite inconceivable only a few weeks ago when his protracted comeback stuttered to another false start in Zagreb.

Now, suddenly and joyously, he cannot stop winning, having taken the Samsung Open title last week and yesterday beating the German Alexander Waske 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 to set up a potentially thunderous second-round match tomorrow against Andy Roddick, the American who is the No5 seed, recent winner of the Stella Artois tournament at Queen's, his first grass-court title - and new favourite for Wimbledon.

There are unlikely to be many protracted rallies, both men sharing the record for the fastest serve at 149mph. The temperature is expected to be in the high 20s tomorrow, which will accentuate the heat in both men's serve. Whoever returns the better will probably win. Yesterday Roddick, 20, defeated Italy's Davide Sanguinetti 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in his first-round match, also on No1 court, and he is clearly in the form of his life on grass.

When they met for the first time at Wimbledon last year on Centre Court, Rusedski, serving and volleying at his very best, won in straight sets. But Roddick, who has recently taken on Brad Gilbert, Andre Agassi's former coach, turned the tables at Queen's over three sets. "It's a tough draw for both of us, probably worthy of being a quarter-final," said Roddick.

Rusedski, having suffered a foot injury in last year's US Open when he was playing Pete Sampras, had to have further surgery on his knee and then suffered neck problems before finally making his comeback in the French Open last month. During this time he slipped out of the world's top 50. Consequently he was unseeded this week although everybody, particularly Roddick, knew that after his Nottingham success he would be the most dangerous of floaters in the early rounds.

Waske proved an obdurate opponent, and had a set point in both tie-breaks, but Rusedski's confidence is high and his one break of serve in the second set lifted it another notch. As soon as the draw was made he had begun preparing him self to play Roddick again and he genuinely believes he can beat him. "I learned a few things at Queen's and you'll see a few differences"

But this is a much improved Roddick from last year when Rusedski made him look like a novice. His return of serve has improved markedly and he has developed a sliced backhand which buys him time to unleash his huge forehand.

"I feel good right now and I'm confident he is going to have to play well to beat me," said Roddick, who was in complete control against the prematurely greying 30-year-old Sanguinetti.

The Italian first appeared at Wimbledon five years ago, reaching the quarter-finals, but he has only once gone beyond the first round since then. He has delightful touch and a flat, penetrating forehand, but in comparison with Roddick he appeared half-paced. He also recognised from an early stage that he could do little about the American's serve, and resorted to laughing to himself at the futility of it all.

Roddick felt that the No1 court was slow compared with those at Queen's, which may have come as news to Sanguinetti as the ball whizzed past his ears. "It's always difficult getting out of the gate at a tournament but I feel I have a bit more of an edge this year," said Roddick.

With Hewitt gone, both Rusedski and Roddick recognise the importance of the match for their immediate futures. "Lleyton has had a fantastic couple of years, winning two slams and finishing as the world No1 for successive years. It's normal to have a period when you dip, but he'll come back strong," said Rusedski.

The Briton admitted that when he played in the French Open he was "terrified" that something else would go wrong. "I hope I have closed the door on that chapter," he added. Closing the door on Roddick may be just as difficult.