Black Tennis Pros

Davis Cup teammates Andy Roddick John Isner will face off in the third round after they posted back-to-back wins on Stadium One, Sunday afternoon at the BNP Paribas Open.

World No. 8 Roddick, who dropped serve once during the one-hour, 30-minute match, broke James Blake to go up 6-5 in the second set and proceeded to clinch the 6-3, 7-5 victory with his 13th ace.

“I thought it was okay,” he said. “It was tough to get a gauge on how I was playing because James was playing so aggressively. From the first game I realized his strategy was any time; he didn't want to let me get a rhythm. I felt like he was coming out of his shoes. It was tough, but the numbers looked good afterwards. I felt like I was hitting the ball okay, so it worked out.”

It was Roddick’s eighth win in 11 matches against Blake, a former World No. 4 who has dropped to a No. 158 ranking after an injury-plagued 2010 season.

“I definitely think we've gotten closer over the course of our careers,” he said of their relationship. “Spending so many weeks early on when we were the only two young U.S. guys who were at tournaments, so we naturally, I guess kind of gravitated towards each other. And then being on the team together for so long, he's one of my favorite people. He's someone who I always cheer for.”