Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray move into third round of Cincinnati Open

 

Top three seeds Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray moved into the third round of the Cincinnati Open with relatively comfortable straight set victories last night.

World number two Djokovic beat Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 6-2 while Olympic gold medallist Murray strolled past American Sam Querrey 6-2 6-4. Federer crushed Russian-American journeyman Alex Bogomolov Jr 6-3 6-2.

Serb Djokovic, who won the ATP Masters tournament at Toronto last week, knew he was in for a tough test from Seppi after needing to come back from two sets down to win in five when they met in the French Open.

It was a tight affair in the first set, won on a tie-break by Djokovic, and then the five-times grand slam singles champion comfortably secured the second.

"I wasn't satisfied with my performance, I will have to play much better than this in order to go far," said the 25-year-old Djokovic.

"There were a lot of unforced errors from both of us. It wasn't a really pretty match."

Murray pulled out of Toronto last week due to concerns over his knee but he looked in good shape as he dominated Querrey.

Murray's serve was too much for his opponent and his defence was strong enough to break serve on three straight service games in the first set to gain control.

Murray said Querrey's recent run of good form had made him raise his game.

"He's had some good wins, so I was expecting a tough match. I think that helped me," said the Scotsman.

"I was very sharp right at the beginning of the match. I needed to be, and it was a good start to the tournament," he said.

The main positive for Murray was that he had no discomfort with his knee.

"It felt fine. I moved well today. It was still giving me a little bit of trouble in practice for a couple of days before the tournament, but it felt much, much better on the court today. I moved well, so I'm hoping it won't be a problem," he said.

Federer dealt with Bogomolov Jr in an hour of one-sided tennis.

"It was very fast out there and so there wasn't much chance for rallies and that can be frustrating when you are on the losing side but he put up a good fight," Federer said charitably.

American James Blake made an early exit after 22-year-old Japanese Kei Nishikori recovered from a poor first set to win 2-6 6-4 6-4.

Mardy Fish is the sole American man left in the competition. He beat Argentine Carlos Berlocq 6-3 6-1.

German Tommy Haas and Australian Lleyton Hewitt have both hinted at mini-revivals in form but their bids here ended in the second round.

Haas battled hard in the first against sixth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro but ended up losing 7-5 6-2 and Hewitt was badly out of sorts as he was crushed 6-2 6-0 by Serb Viktor Troicki.

Reuters

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Sport blogs

iBet: Rose has the ammunition for Wentworth

McDowell did brilliantly to land the World Match Play title in Bulgaria last week, but it’s a format...

by Gareth Purnell

Brits on fire in the wet at Le Mans!

Wow - what a weekend for British Motorcycle racing!

by Luke Wilkins

iBet: Bale and Rooney transfer specials

The dust is barely settling on the Premier League season and the bookies are looking to persuade us ...

by Gareth Purnell

       
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again
Dylan Hartley: Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong

Dylan Hartley talks tough

Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong
Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment
Inferno author Dan Brown 'honoured' to be invited to join the Freemasons

The Freemasons’ Code

Dan Brown reveals the message that told him door to the lodge is open
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Nick Buckles survived the Olympics débâcle and a £5bn bid fiasco but a profit warning finally triggered his downfall
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’: Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar

How to say ‘I’m a sellout’

Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar
Why clubs are keen to take a stand

Why clubs are keen to take a stand

There's a real desire around the grounds for safe standing. But will the authorities listen?
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

Disillusion with a siege mentality and negative playing style made change inevitable
James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

British driver was fascinating man whose epic duel with Niki Lauda in 1976 was typical of an era of glamour and glory – but also the ever-present threat of death