Tennis: Roddick nails record breaking serve in win

Now that's the way to begin defending your first Grand Slam title: a U.S. Open-record 152 mph serve and a straight-sets victory.

Andy Roddick overwhelmed 17-year-old Scoville Jenkins of Atlanta 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 Tuesday night to reach the second round at the year's last major.

Roddick hit 12 aces and he ended the second game of the match with one at 152 mph - just 1 mph slower than his tour record. He eclipsed the tournament mark of 143 mph registered by Greg Rusedski in 1997 and 1999.

"I just wanted to welcome him to the court," Roddick said with a laugh. "I knew he was a little bit nervous, so I thought that I'd go at him and show him something early on."

When Jenkins won his first game - after trailing 6-0, 2-0 - his father jumped out of his seat and pumped his fist. Here's how lopsided the first set was: Roddick won 24 of 29 points, and he needed just 16 minutes to wrap it up.

Two weeks ago, Jenkins became the first black player to win the USTA Boys' 18s National Championship. Winning that title earned him a wild card from the U.S. Tennis Association.

"I didn't play too bad. That's probably the best player I've played in my life: No. 2 in the world, defending champion," Jenkins said. "I've never seen a serve like that before."

Asked what it was like to return a 152 mph serve, Jenkins smiled.

"I don't know," he said. "I didn't return it."

Jenkins, who'll play in the U.S. Open junior tournament next week, is ranked 1,441st - a mere 1,439 spots below Roddick. Before playing his first tour-level match Tuesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, he never had faced anyone ranked higher than 347th.

"All is fair: He took the wild card, he came here to play. Once you get out there, it's business," Roddick said. "I knew it was going to be a pretty daunting experience for him, especially early on. He'll be fine. Every other stadium will feel like nothing after playing out there."

He plays another teen next, albeit a far more accomplished one: Rafael Nadal, an 18-year-old Spaniard who won his first ATP Tour title at Sopot, Poland, just over two weeks ago.

Nadal, a left-hander ranked 49th, advanced at the U.S. Open by edging Ivo Heuberger of Switzerland 6-0, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3.

Other top players in Roddick's quarter of the draw had a rough time Tuesday, too.

Marat Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open champion, lost his first-round match to Tomas Enqvist; No. 11 Rainer Schuettler was beaten by Italian qualifier Andreas Seppi; and the man who lost to Roddick in the 2003 final at Flushing Meadows, Juan Carlos Ferrero, played 4 1/2 hours before finally defeating Tomas Zib in five sets.

Whats the chances of him hitting the 160 mph mark in the next few years?

There was a time when 140 mph was a great feat and now he is hitting them consistantly above that.