Djokovic rolls into the fourth round at US Open

NEW YORK: Second seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic ousted France’s Julien Benneteau in straight sets yesterday to cruise into the US Open fourth round.
Djokovic enjoyed a 41-15 advantage in winners and never lost his serve to take the match in Arthur Ashe Stadium 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour, 37 minutes. Djokovic will next face 14th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine or 18th seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.
Djokovic, who has not lost a set during the tournament, blasted 13 aces and although he successfully landed only 59 percent of his first serves, never faced a break point against the 32nd-ranked Frenchman.
Five-time champion Roger Federer defied 32-degree heat and crushing humidity to reach the last 16 on Saturday as potential semifinal rival Andy Murray almost wilted in the New York sweatshop.
Top seed Federer, bidding to be the first six-time winner in 87 years, defeated Spanish 25th seed Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in a shade over two hours to make the last 16 for the 12th successive year.
The Swiss next faces American 23rd seed Mardy Fish, who beat Gilles Simon, the French 16th seed, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Fish prevailed in a match, which finished after 0100 local time Sunday morning despite hitting 74 unforced errors.
In stark contrast, third-seeded Murray, the 2008 US Open runner-up to Federer, needed almost four hours to clinch a 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) victory over 30th-seeded Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez.
Olympic champion Murray will next face 15th-seeded Milos Raonic, who defeated American wildcard James Blake and 6-3, 6-0, 7-6 (7/3) on the back of 29 aces to become the first Canadian to make the last 16 in 24 years.
Eleventh seed Nicolas Almagro kept Spanish hopes alive when he reached the fourth round for the first time with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 win over American wildcard Jack Sock. Almagro will meet Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych, who defeated American 27th seed Sam Querrey 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.

Croatian 12th seed Marin Cilic, a quarterfinalist in 2009, ended Asian hopes in the singles when he ousted Japanese 17th seed Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.
Cilic will next face unseeded Slovak Martin Klizan who beat doubles partner Jeremy Chardy, the French 32nd seed, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Three-time women’s champion Serena Williams went level with sister Venus on 61 US Open career wins when she coasted into the fourth round.
Olympic and Wimbledon champion Williams won eight games in succession to claim a 6-4, 6-0 win over Russia’s world 42 Ekaterina Makarova, the woman who knocked her out of the Australian Open this year.
Williams, the fourth seed, fired 31 winners and eight aces and will next face unseeded Czech Andrea Hlavackova, who beat Maria Kirilenko of Russia, the 14th seed, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Polish second seed and Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska matched her best US Open performance by also reaching the last 16 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over error-plagued Serb 30th seed Jelena Jankovic, the 2008 runner-up.
Radwanska goes on to face Italian 20th seed Roberta Vinci for a place in the quarter-finals.
Vinci reached the last 16 for the first time with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Slovakia’s 13th seed Dominika Cibulkova, a quarter-finalist in 2010.
Former world number one and 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic reached the last 16 for the fourth time with a 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-2 win over highly-regarded American teenager Sloane Stephens.
The Serb 12th seed will next face Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova who saw off Spain’s Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.
German sixth seed Angelique Kerber, a semi-finalist in 2011, eased past Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-1, 6-2, and now meets French Open runner-up Sara Errani, the 10th seeded Italian, who defeated Russian qualifier Olga Puchkova 6-1, 6-1.