Federer and Djokovic march into round three
Originally published on: 03/09/10 10:58
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic won their US Open second round matches in straight sets on another sweltering day in New York.
Five-time champion Federer, the No.2 seed at the year’s last major, cruised past Andreas Beck 6-3 6-4 6-3, later describing his first four days as the “perfect start.”
“I played Monday, had two days off,” said Federer. “I had another easy one physically today, and here I am in the third round feeling like I’m completely in the tournament.”
Paul-Henri Mathieu awaits the Swiss in the third round after the Frenchman saw off young compatriot Guillaume Rufin 7-6(3) 6-4 6-3.
Novak Djokovic showed no ill effects from Tuesday’s marathon first-round encounter against Viktor Troicki as he saw off a stern examination from Philipp Petzschner in straight sets, advancing with a 7-5 6-3 7-6(6) victory.
The match was briefly interrupted by a scuffle in the stands that led to three fans being handcuffed and ejected from the grounds over what USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier described as a “disagreement over verbiage.”
The Serbian No.3 seed faces James Blake in the third round after the New York native saw off Canada’s Peter Polansky 6-7(1) 6-3 6-2 6-4.
World No.108 Blake, who needed a wildcard to play at this year’s Open, has not been beyond the third round in any tournament in 2010, but the two-time quarter-finalist is hoping to feed off the hometown crowd’s energy when he faces Djokovic.
“When I come to the Open, there is definitely something different, some memories for me, some good feelings,” he said. “Just the energy level from the crowd gets my feet moving a little better. I want to go on a good run for them.”
Fellow American Mardy Fish also booked his spot in round three with a 7-5 6-0 6-2 victory over Pablo Cuevas, but Taylor Dent is out after going down 6-2 6-2 6-4 to No.5 seed Robin Soderling.
Three seeds fell out of the men’s draw on day four. Last year’s quarter-finalist Marin Cilic lost out to Kei Nishikori, the Japanese overcoming leg and arm cramps to win 5-7 7-6(6) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-1.
“I’m pretty tired,” Nishikori, who had cramps in his racket hand as the final game began, said afterwards. “I was cramping from second set, third set, but I kept fighting.”
Thomaz Bellucci, the No.26 seed, also fell in five sets, going down 6-7(4) 6-4 5-7 6-4 7-6(2) to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, while former semi-finalist Nikolay Davydenko lost 6-3 6-4 6-2 to Richard Gasquet.
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