Roddick stays focused in Poertschach opening round

VIENNA, May 21 (Reuters) America's Andy Roddick safely negotiated the opening round of the ATP tournament in Poertschach, Austria, seeing off local wildcard Alexander Peya 6-4 7-5.

Not usually at his best on clay, the world number three put in a concentrated performance against the world number 99 today, winning through thanks to breaks in the final game of each set.

''I felt like I played pretty well,'' Roddick told Austrian television. ''It was a hell of a match with not many unforced errors and just a couple of good points there at the end making the only difference.'' Roddick, a former world number one, will be looking for further boosts of confidence this week as he finalises his preparations for the French Open, where he has never been past the third round.

The American regained third place in the sport's rankings on Monday at the expense of Nikolay Davydenko who is also playing in Poertschach this week.

Chasing his third successive title at the Austrian tournament, the Russian top seed is projected to meet Roddick in Saturday's final.

REUTERS BJR HS1904