Roger Federer made quick work of Carlos Berlocq 63 62 61 in the 2nd round of the US Open on Thursday to move on in the final major of the season.
The Swiss Maestro was in no mood to play around and was sharp right from the start of the match. He wound up taking the opening set in half an hour. They traded breaks in the first two games of the second before Roger went up another two breaks and it was much of the same in the third set as Roger handed out a breadstick to the veteran clay-court specialist from Argentina.
It was a better performance than his opening match and the quality of his opponent was much better also. Berlocq didn't really play that badly, but he was obviously overmatched. The 30 year-old handled himself well and the contest was sprinkled with some brilliant points throughout.
Federer hit 37 winners to 25 errors, was 28/40 at the net, and broke serve 7 times in 13 attempts. He didn't have his best serving day but he didn't need it either. If he practiced after his first round win because he felt the match had little rhythm, he didn't need to after this one as there were many baseline rallies with the consistent and intense Berclocq.
Next up for Fed is Adrian Mannarino, who upset American #2 Sam Querrey in 4 sets. The Frenchman is someone who makes the most out of his game but anything but a straight sets win would be a surprise - in their two previous meetings at Wimbledon and the Paris Indoors in 2011, Roger won comfortably.
Elsewhere in the draw....
On Wednesday, Andy Murray unsurprisingly rolled by Michael Llodra in a highly entertaining match that featured many cat-and-mouse points and creative shotmaking. Juan Martin del Potro had a tougher go of things, needing 4 sets and 4 hours to beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Rafael Nadal cruised into the third round with a simple victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva in the Thursday night session.
Round three will see an interesting match between del Potro and Lleyton Hewitt, a battle of two US Open champions. It could be a tricky test for the big man but he should come through.
As it stands, Djokovic should make the quarters with ease as he plays Benjamin Becker in the second round, then Jarkko Nieminen or Joao Sousa, and then Marcel Granollers or Rajeev Ram. Murray has a similarly smooth path, with Leonardo Mayer in the second round, then Donald Young or Florian Mayer, and then Tobias Kamke or Denis Istomin. Del Potro's biggest test to the quarters could be Tommy Haas in the 4th round, and for Tomas Berdych, it could be Stan Wawrinka.
On the sadder side, James Blake was defeated by Ivo Karlovic on Wednesday night in 5 sets to send his proud career into the sunset. The American lost a two set lead but it has to be said that the tall Croatian has improved his overall game a lot over the years. His serve may not be as powerful as it once was, but his forehand, movement, and net game are all improved. Even his return has stepped up, and many times the big man ran around his slice backhand return to hammer a forehand to which Blake had no answer.
It's always sad when a player you enjoy watching retires, and there have certainly been many of them over the last few years - Marat Safin, Carlos Moya, Ivan Ljubicic, Fernando Gonzalez, Andy Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and now Blake.
Blake's career may not have been as good as it could have been, be played the game big and on his terms, with his massive forehand and athletic quickness. But as much as he was a joy to watch on the court, he was even better off it, and to see him have as successful a career as he has had after his broken neck in 2004 and the death of his father.
You will be missed James, from a big fan.
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