Roddick needed two hours and 15 minutes to defeat Stakhosvsky

Ninth seed Andy Roddick booked his place in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters following a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 win over Sergiy Stakhovsky.

After taking the first set, the two-time champion blew a 5-2 lead in the second-set tiebreaker before breaking early in the third to seal the match.

"That third set was actually a blessing in disguise. That's the best I've played in months," said the American.

But 14th seed Nicolas Almagro was beaten by Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3 6-3.

The Spaniard was the only seed to fall in the first round, while Taylor Dent, ranked 83rd in the world, set up a second-round encounter against world number one Rafael Nadal after beating Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-2.

Tenth seed David Ferrer was taken to three sets in a 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov but 13th seed Jurgen Melzer had little trouble in dispatching qualifier Santiago Giraldo 6-1 6-4.

There were also wins for Thiemo de Bakker, Sam Querrey, Thomaz Bellucci and Michael Berrer.

Fourth seed Andy Murray, fresh from his Rogers Cup victory in Toronto on Sunday, received a first-round bye, alongside the other top eight players in the world.

The Scot will play the winner of the first-round match between Frenchman Jeremy Chardy and a qualifier.

Roger Federer, who lost to Murray in the Rogers Cup final in Canada, is the defending champion in Cincinnati.

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