Roddick, Djokovic, Del Potro reach third round at U.S. Open

Flushing Meadows, NY – American Andy Roddick still has some gas left in the tank, posting a second-round victory Friday at the U.S. Open.

Roddick, who announced on Thursday that he will retire following the season's final major tournament, cruised past Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 under the bright lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 30-year-old Roddick captured his lone Grand Slam title at the 2003 U.S. Open and was the 2006 runner-up in New York.

"I don't know. I had no idea what was going to happen out there honestly, even before the match," Roddick said. "You know, I've played a lot of matches. That was a different kind of nerves than I've had before. That was surprising for me."

A three-time Wimbledon finalist (2004-05, '09), Roddick will face Italian Fabio Fognini in the third round. Fognini handled Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on Friday.

Reigning champion Novak Djokovic and former titlist Juan Martin del Potro were also among Friday's second-round winners.

The second-seeded former world No. 1 Djokovic drubbed Brazil's Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in 1 hour, 39 minutes at Ashe Stadium, where the temperature was above 90 degrees on Day 5.

Djokovic currently holds two of the four Grand Slam titles, as he also won this year's Australian Open in addition to his 2011 U.S. Open championship when he beat Rafael Nadal in the final at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The five-time major champion is also a two-time U.S. Open runner-up (2007, 2010).

"Yes, very pleased. It was different conditions today obviously from the first matches I played, the night session," Djokovic said. "I didn't know much about my opponent. Never saw him play. So that could have been, you know, a difficulty at the start in order to figure out what his game plan is. But I have played well, you know, from the start to the end."

The seventh-seeded del Potro got past 20-year-old American Ryan Harrison 6-2, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in 2 hours, 34 minutes at Armstrong Stadium.

Harrison is now 0-15 lifetime against top-10 ATP players.

The 6-foot-6 Del Potro stunned Roger Federer in five sets in the 2009 U.S. Open final.

Spanish star David Ferrer was also a second-round winner on Friday.

The fourth seed moved on in straight sets against Dutchman Igor Sijsling, but the tight third went to a tiebreak, as the gritty Spaniard settled for a 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (14-12) decision on the Grandstand court.

Ferrer advanced in 2 hours, 27 minutes, breaking Sijsling four times en route to the round of 32.

Janko Tipsarevic, the No. 8 seed, spanked American Brian Baker 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 and ninth-seeded American John Isner beat Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-3.

Nifty 13th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet moved on by easily beating Stanford University's Bradley Klahn 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, while 14th-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov drove out former Aussie Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5).

Stanislas Wawrinka, the No. 18 seed, outlasted Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, German Philipp Kohlschreiber, the No. 19 seed, outlasted Benoit Paire of France 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) and Frenchman Julien Benneteau, the 31st seed, beat American Dennis Novikov 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5.

Former world No. 1 and 2001 U.S. Open champ Lleyton Hewitt stayed alive in the draw with a gutsy five-set victory over left-hander Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-4, in 4 hours, 35 minutes. The two-time major champion Hewitt will face Ferrer in his next outing.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old American Steve Johnson reached the third round by overcoming talented Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-4. Gulbis launched 24 aces in a losing effort.

The former USC Trojan Johnson is a two-time NCAA singles champ.

Also advancing was Argentine Leonardo Mayer, who took out former top-10 star Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Mayer is rewarded with a third- rounder against his fellow countryman del Potro.

Grega Zemlja of Slovenia took down German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to secure a spot in the third round.