Robredo through to second round at rain-affected Rome Masters

Spain’s Tommy Robredo pulled off an impressive comeback in the first round of the 2009 Rome Masters on Tuesday, coming back from a set down to defeat Marat Safin in a rain affected match.

Safin had the best of the early running, racing to a 6-2 one set lead. Rain began to fall towards the end of the set, and when play resumed 2½ hours later it was Rebredo who came to the fore.

The Spaniard made the best of difficult conditions, as both players skidded and fell on the rain-slicked court. Safin soon found himself making a multitude of unforced errors, and Robredo gradually wore down his opponent to score a 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 win.

“The shoes would pick up so much clay that it was like ice skating,” Robredo told the Associated Press after the match. “There was no grip at all. At the end of the third set, I knew that if I was tough mentally I could beat him. It was a great comeback.”

Several second round matches scheduled for Tuesday were postponed until Wednesday, as only a handful of matches were completed in Rome. One of these produced Robredo’s second round opponent, Philipp Kohlschreiber who defeated Simone Bolelli 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 to reach the second round.