JESSE WITTEN

You can’t fault Jesse Witten for his timing.

The former Lely state tennis champion won his first ATP Tour singles match in seven tries on Tuesday morning ... in the men’s singles main draw of the U.S. Open.

Witten romped over No. 29 seed Igor Andreev of Russia in straight sets for a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 first-round victory.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” Witten said. “The last couple of weeks I’ve been playing well, and I’m not even sure why. I’m just going to roll with it.

“I’m hitting the ball well,” he added. “I’m dictating play well without making a lot of errors. Everything is bugging a lot of guys, even a guy like him who is so good. I really don’t know what to say about it. I’m not going to argue it.”

Witten, 26, took the first set 6-4, and then shut out Andreev in the second. Andreev led the third, 2-1, before Witten broke him to take a 3-2 lead, then went on to close out the match.

Witten will face Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina in the second round. Gonzalez defeated Karol Beck 2-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday.

The winner between Gonzalez and Witten likely will face fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic in the third round.

Witten said he sought advice from John McEnroe, his World TeamTennis teammate, this week.

“We’ve gotten closer over the last five or six years,” Witten said. “He was trying to give me some pointers, helping me out. He usually doesn’t say too much when it comes to somebody else’s game or coaching like that. That meant a lot, just to know that he was there. And he called me after I qualified. It makes you feel appreciated and what you’re doing makes it worth it.”

Witten qualified for the Open on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Austria’s Alexander Peya (No. 259). Witten, a former University of Kentucky All-American, is currently ranked No. 270 in the world.

In 2006, Witten qualified for the U.S. Open but lost to Paul Goldstein in the first round of the main draw. His career-high ranking came in October 2006 when he reached No. 171.

Witten reached the final of the NCAA Championships as a sophomore in 2002 and was a first-team All-SEC singles selection all four years and Kentucky’s first five-time All-American (four singles; one doubles).

NAPLES DAILY