WASHINGTON: US top seed Andy Roddick made a triumphant return Wednesday in his first match since a heartbreaking Wimbledon final loss, defeating Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-2 at the ATP Washington Classic.

Fifth-ranked Roddick fired eight aces and overpowered his 47th-ranked rival in 55 minutes to reach a third-round match against countryman Sam Querrey, who beat Russian Igor Kunitsyn 6-3, 6-4 at the 1.4 million-dollar hardcourt event.

Swiss superstar Roger Federer outlasted Roddick in a five-set thriller at the All-England Club a month ago to claim his record 15th Grand Slam title, but not before Roddick pushed him through the longest fifth set in Slam history.

Roddick, a three-time champion at Washington, broke Becker's first service game in each set. Roddick lost only three points on his serve in the opening set, ending it on an ace, and broke at love in the fifth game of the last set.

Roddick, whose only Grand Slam title came at the 2003 US Open, felt the rust of a month-long layoff most in his serve, even though he connected on 58 percent of first serves.

Querrey has been on a roll in the past month, reaching the finals at Newport and Indianapolis and winning last week's title at Los Angeles.

American John Isner fired 20 aces past third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and won four of the last five points after a rain delay in the third-set tie-breaker to beat the Frenchman 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4).

Former world number ones Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain reached the third round. Hewitt defeated Israel's Dudi Sela 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. Ferrero ousted seventh-seeded Davis Cup teammate Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-2.

Hewitt will next meet defending champion and second seed Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina. Ferrero, who snapped a five-year title drought in April at Casablanca, will next play Germany's Tommy Haas.

Croatian Ivo Karlovic fired 18 aces to defeat Germany's Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 7-5 and book a third-round match against India qualifier Somdev Devvarman.

Devvarman downed lanky Karlovic in January at Chennai in a run to the final in his hometown.

Serbian Viktor Troicki, last year's Washington runner-up, retired with a right foot injury after losing the first three games to France's Marc Gicquel, who faces Swedish fifth seed Robin Soderling next. LINK