Novak Djokovic cruised into the third round of the US Open with a straight-sets win over Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva.
Serb drops just five games against Dutra Silva
Defending champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the third round of the US Open with a straight sets win over Rogerio Dutra Silva.
Djokovic raced through in just 99 minutes against Silva, never breaking sweat in a 6-2 6-1 6-2 romp, though the Brazilian did show he is one for the future with some fine winners.
The second seed was never so much as break point down at any point in the match, winning 90 per cent of his first serve points.
"It was very windy so it was very important to stay focused, but I played great," Djokovic said. "Even if the scoreline doesn't indicate it, it was a tough match."
Next for Djokovic will be either France's Julien Benneteau - always a dangerous customer - or Russian-born US teen Dennis Novikov, the lowest-ranked player in the second round of a grand slam event at 1,098th.
"It's important to get a day's rest and work on some things in my game and get ready for the next challenge," Djokovic said.
Seventh seed Juan Martin Del Potro is seeded to meet Djokovic in the quarter-finals and he shrugged off the loss of the third set to beat America's Ryan Harrison 6-2 6-3 2-6 6-2.
Del Potro next meets his fellow Argentinian Leonardo Mayer, who ended the grand slam comeback of Tommy Robredo with a 6-1 6-4 4-6 7-5 victory.
Ferrer advances
Fourth seed David Ferrer continued his straightforward progress through the draw with a 6-2 6-3 7-6 (14/12) victory over Dutch qualifier Igor Sijsling in the second round of the US Open.
The Spaniard has been elevated into the top four in the absence of his injured countryman Rafael Nadal but is going about his business very much under the radar.
Ferrer is having the best season of his career, reaching the semi-finals at the French Open and the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, and his only tight moments came in a lengthy third-set tie-break.
He will play 2000 champion Lleyton Hewitt in the third round after the Australian won a four-and-a-half hour marathon against Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 3-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-7 (5/7) 7-5 6-4.
There was a popular victory, meanwhile, for American college champion Steve Johnson, who served his way to a 6-7 (3/7) 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 6-4 win over mercurial Latvian Ernests Gulbis.
Johnson, a 22-year-old wild card, is the first college champion to reach the third round of the US Open since Sargis Sargsian in 1995.
Johnson lost to Alex Bogomolov in five sets in the first round last year, and he said: "All the hard work I put in really has paid off. I'm very happy to see that."
Johnson was hoping for an all-college clash with Bradley Klahn but the qualifier found 13th seed Richard Gasquet too good, the Frenchman winning 6-3 6-3 6-1.
