Roddick bows out in Rome

American Andy Roddick's miserable season on clay continued on Monday when he was knocked out in the first round of the Rome Masters 6-3 6-3 by Frenchman Gilles Simon.

American Andy Roddick's miserable season on clay continued on Monday when he was knocked out in the first round of the Rome Masters 6-3 6-3 by Frenchman Gilles Simon.

The 12th seed, who had fallen to qualifier Flavio Cipolla in the opening round at Madrid last week, never looked comfortable on the red clay against his unseeded opponent who cruised to victory after an early break.

"He (Simon) moves really well which is not what you want to see when you're not hitting the ball well like today," Roddick told reporters.

The former world number one hit just nine winners compared to Simon's 23, making 27 unforced errors to the Frenchman's 18 on a windy Centre Court.

"Nobody likes losing. I'm trying at the moment but the last couple of weeks I haven't felt comfortable," Roddick told reporters.

"Playing some different surfaces is like chalk and cheese. An indoor fast court in Memphis is very different to here, but I feel great physically so no excuses there."

Roddick will next play in Nice before the French Open which begins on May 17.

Simon, 19th in the world rankings, next faces the winner of the match between Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela and American John Isner.