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Djokovic, Sharapova Reach Third Round With Straight-Set Wins at U.S. Open
Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova posted straight-set wins at the U.S. Open to set up third-round matches against underdog Americans.
The third-seeded Djokovic capped last night’s action by beating Germany’s Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) at the National Tennis Center in New York. Djokovic advances to face James Blake, a two-time quarterfinalist who’s slipped to 108th in the ATP Tour world rankings.
“I played well when I needed to and was a little bit lucky,” Djokovic said during a news conference.
Sharapova, the 2006 U.S. Open champion, needed one hour and 6 minutes yesterday to defeat Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2. The 14th-seeded Sharapova next plays Beatrice Capra, a wild-card entrant who at 371 in the world is the lowest-ranked player to reach the third round at the U.S. Open since 2002.
Five-time champion Roger Federer and women’s top seed Caroline Wozniacki also won their second-round matches in straight sets at the season’s final Grand Slam tournament.
Men’s No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal and reigning women’s champion Kim Clijsters are among today’s featured matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Spain’s Nadal plays Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, while Belgium’s second-seeded Clijsters faces Petra Kvitova, the 27th seed from the Czech Republic.
Two-time champion Venus Williams is also in action, as are men’s No. 4 seed Andy Murray of the U.K. and Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey, who are 18th and 20th, respectively.
Conserving Energy
Djokovic lost one game on his serve in beating Petzschner and rebounding from an opening-round win in which he was pushed to five sets.
“It’s important to save as much energy in the opening rounds, especially after the first match,” Djokovic said. “I looked forward to a night match, especially after a tough one two days ago in extreme heat.”
Federer, the men’s No. 2 seed from Switzerland, said he was pleased to have been on the court less than two hours in his 6- 3, 6-4, 6-3 win over Germany’s Andreas Beck. Federer played during the day session, when temperatures were above 91 degrees Fahrenheit (31 Celsius) for the fourth straight day.
“I had another easy one physically, and here I am in the third round feeling like I’m completely in the tournament,” said Federer, who’s won 16 Grand Slams.
Wozniacki Cruises
Wozniacki took 47 minutes to ease past Kai-Chen Chang of Taiwan without losing a game.
Sharapova, who started yesterday’s night session on Ashe, had a similarly easy time after going to a third and deciding third set in her opener. Up next is the 18-year-old Capra, who upset 18th-seeded Aravane Rezai of France 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 to reach the third round in her first Grand Slam.
Kei Nishikori, the only Japanese man in the draw, overcame arm and leg cramps to beat 11th seed Marin Cilic of Croatia in a five-set match that took 4 hours, 59 minutes.
Jurgen Melzer, the 13th seed from Austria, also went five sets in a win over Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis.
Nikolay Davydenko, the Russian No. 6 seed, lost to Frenchman Richard Gasquet in straight sets. He’s among 11 of the 32 men’s seeds to be eliminated.
Robin Soderling, the fifth seed from Sweden, No. 19 seed Mardy Fish of the U.S. and 21st seed Albert Montanes of Spain had straight-set wins.
Eleven women’s seeds have also been ousted, including No. 9 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who dropped the final two sets in losing to China’s Shuai Peng. Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder beat 22nd-seeded Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain.
No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, No. 11 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 15 Yanina Wickmayer all advanced.
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