London: Big-serving American Andy Roddick began his pursuit of a fifth Queen’s title on Wednesday, thumping down 15 aces to beat compatriot Robby Ginepri 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament.

The third seed, who had a bye in the first round, had played no competitions since pulling out of the Italian Masters with a back and shoulder injury last month and in the first set he looked rusty.

Ginepri, who reached the fourth round of the French Open and had a good workout in his 6-4, 7-6 first-round match against compatriot Vince Spadea on Monday, looked comfortable going forward and clinched the tiebreak 8-6 with two neat volleys.

But after screaming in frustration when he floated an easy backhand into the net, Roddick finally got into his stride, thumping down serves and finding the lines with his returns.

The Roddick grass court battery, which has taken him to two Wimbledon finals, broke Ginepri’s serve twice in the second set and twice in the third for a run of nine games in a row.

Fifth seed Richard Gasquet of France, also playing his first match on grass after a bye through to the second round, made brisk work of Simone Bolelli, ranked 47th in the world, beating the Italian 6-3, 6-3. (REUTERS)