US Open: Federer, Djokovic march into Round of 16

New York, Aug 31 (IANS) Swiss great Roger Federer and world No.1 Novak Djokovic won their respective third-round matches to enter the Round of 16 of the ongoing US Open.

After conceding the opening set in both his first and second round victories, Federer came out with a power packed performance and defeated Daniel Evans of Britain 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in just just one hour and 20 minutes on Friday evening.

The No. 3 seeded Swiss was the stronger player from the baseline and hit 48 winners including 10 aces. Moreover, Federer won 80 per cent of first serve points and 70 per cent on his second serve.

The five-time champion is into the Round of 16 for the 18th consecutive year. He has not missed the second week of the US Open since his debut appearance in 2000. He will be facing David Goffin of Belgium on Saturday for a place in the quarterfinals.

In other men's singles clash, Djokovic dominated his clash against American Denis Kudla, winning in routine straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in a game that lasted a little more than two hours.

The defending champion was hardly rattled throughout his victory, hitting six aces on a 62 per cent first-serve rate, winning 81 per cent of those points. He also rushed the net 20 times, converting on 15 of those chances.

During an on-court interview after the match, the Serb said that he was glad he could play the match "almost pain free." He has struggled with pain in his left shoulder.

"That was a big improvement from the last match," Djokovic said.

He will face No. 23 Stan Wawrinka, the 2016 US Open champion, in the fourth round. The last time the pair faced each other was in the 2016 US Open final.