Roddick survives scare

Andy Roddick needed three sets to overcome the French qualifier Stephan Huet, ranked more than 200 places below him, in the opening round of the Swiss Indoor tournament in Basle yesterday. The American, 15th in the ATP standings, recovered from a shaky second set to beat the 254th-ranked Huet 6-2, 3-6, 7-6.

"I won the third by only two points, I was in danger of losing the match," said Roddick, who has shot up the rankings in his debut year on the ATP Tour, "but you can't play great all the time."

Roddick, who went from playing 10 weeks a year as a junior to 21 tournaments this season, seems to be displaying the classic signs of first full season fatigue rookies often suffer.

"It's a bit overwhelming," Roddick acknowledged. "But I just need to put it together in the next few weeks."