Federer leads stars into third round

NEW YORK

Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the third round of the US Open on Thursday while Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling showed why they are title contenders as well.

Swiss second seed Federer, seeking his 17th Grand Slam crown and a seventh consecutive trip to the US Open final, beat Germany’s 104th-ranked Andreas Beck 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 41 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Five-time US Open champion Federer will face 109th-ranked Paul-Henri Mathieu to decide a fourth-round berth on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts.

“It’s the perfect start,” Federer said. “Body is well. Mentally obviously I’m fresh, too. I haven’t played too much, so I’m really eager. I’m ready for tough matches coming around. It’s good I’m saving myself, really, and my game is fine.”

Feeling fresh

Danish women’s top seed Wozniacki blanked Taiwan’s Chang Kai-Chen 6-0, 6-0 in 47 minutes, her 11th match victory in a row after titles at Montreal and New Haven leading into the Open. She has dropped only two games in two matches.

“I go out there and I don’t give up. I don’t give any free points away and that is one of my strong points,” Wozniacki said. “I am feeling fresh, all recovered from everything. I am happy to be playing injury-free. It’s perfect.”

Russian beauty Sharapova routed Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2, moving closer to a fourth-round showdown with Wozniacki. The 2006 US Open winner struggled with injuries last year but is back on form now.

“Last year here, the position I was in, I was trying to see where my game was, so it’s nice to be back on the court and not having to worry about anything other than trying to win,” Sharapova said.

Serbian third seed Djokovic advanced 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) over German Philipp Petzschner, saying, “I was shakey the whole match but I was able to hold on.”

Djokovic reached the 2007 US Open final and the Flushing Meadows semi-finals the past two years, each time losing to Federer, whom he could again face in the semi-finals.