Roddick starts clay season with win

ROME -- Andy Roddick got his clay-court season off to a solid start Tuesday, defeating Mardy Fish 6-1, 6-4 in an all-American matchup in the second round of the Rome Masters.

Roddick improved his record against his longtime friend to 8-1.

Fish outlasted Michael Llodra in three sets Monday and appeared off his game at the start, losing the first set in 22 minutes with 14 unforced errors. The sixth-seeded Roddick had a first-round bye and came out firing his big serve.

Roddick broke for a 4-3 lead in the second set when Fish missed a routine backhand into the net. Fish missed two more routine baseline shots to give Roddick the win.

It was Roddick's second match on clay this year after a Davis Cup win over Austria's Jurgen Melzer in February.

Roddick snapped an 11-match losing streak to Roger Federer a month ago at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. He led the U.S. to a win over France in the Davis Cup quarterfinals a week later.

The top-ranked Federer was scheduled to play later against Guillermo Canas. Canas is one of the few players with a winning record against Federer at 3-2.

The tournament is a clay-court tuneup for the French Open, which begins May 25.