Federer eases into third round at the Open

Flushing Meadows, NY – Five-time champion Roger Federer was an easy second-round winner Thursday at the U.S. Open.

The seventh-seeded former world No. 1 great blew past Argentine Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in a comfortable 1 hour, 35 minutes at Ashe Stadium on the hardcourts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The Swiss icon tallied six aces and broke Berlocq seven times en route to the third round.

The 17-time Grand Slam titlist Federer was the tennis king of New York from 2004-08 and runner-up in 2009.

Fourth-seeded French Open runner-up David Ferrer moved on by holding off fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-2. The gritty Ferrer was a U.S. Open semifinalist last year and in 2007.

Meanwhile, nifty eighth seed Richard Gasquet handled fellow Frenchman Stephane Robert 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 on Day 4. The capable Gasquet has only ever reached one Grand Slam quarterfinal, when he landed in a semifinal at Wimbledon six years ago.

In other action involving seeds, No. 18 Serb Janko Tipsarevic drilled Israeli Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 and No. 32 Russian Dmitry Tursunov topped France's Guillaume Rufin 7-6 (7-4), 1-1, retired.

Also, big-hitting American Jack Sock got past Argentine Maximo Gonzalez 7-6 (7-3), 1-6, 7-5, 6-2, Brit Daniel Evans dismissed disappointing Aussie Bernard Tomic 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, and Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin beat Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. Kukushkin will meet Ferrer in the round of 32.