Andy Roddick smashed his way to his first ATP Tour title of the year with a 7-5 7-5 victory over fifth seed Radek Stepanek in Memphis.

The win avenged his semifinal-loss against Stepanek in the previous event.

According to an online CNN report, “Roddick confirmed after his win that he would not be defending his title in Dubai this week, angered by the refusal of a work permit to allow Israeli Shahar Peer to play in the preceding WTA tournament in the Emirate state.”

However, the American was happy to claim his first title in his home soil. “I'm very satisfied and thought it was a very good level of tennis,” Roddick told the league’s official Website. “We have a long year ahead of us and this is a nice start but there's a lot of work ahead. I am feeling good and I like coming here. It's nice to win again here and 2002 seems like a long time ago. I felt like I have left a couple of titles here out on the table.”

In the second game, Roddick broke serve and sustained a 3-0 lead, before his Czech opponent broke back in the fifth game.

It remained on serve to the 12th game, when Stepanek hit a long forehand at set point to Roddick.

Roddick went on the offensive with a 40-0. He claimed game, set, and match with a forehand, making him a return champion of the Memphis trophy.

“I had some break chances in the second set and couldn't convert and that was the difference,” said Stepanek. “Game is based around his serve and he served really well when he had to. The only difference was break points and I couldn't convert when I had chances.”