Djokovic, Nishikori Progress To The Next Round

Djokovic

World number one Novak Djokovic breezed into the third round on a blustery day at the US Open on Thursday, defeating France's Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.
Serbia's Djokovic, the 2011 champion who has played in the last four finals at Flushing Meadows, will face Sam Querrey for a place in the round of 16.
Querrey, one of just three US men to make it into the second round, advanced with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over 28th-seeded Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Djokovic, who captured his seventh Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July, didn't seem to notice the wind swirling inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, firing 13 aces and 33 total winners past Mathieu.
"It's very windy, but I managed to adjust to the conditions that obviously are not easy for myself and my opponent," Djokovic said.
"I managed to play better in the important moments, play solid, use my serve efficiently -- with accuracy rather than speed."
Djokovic looked more uncomfortable being asked post-match to demonstrate some dance steps for the crowd than he did facing anything that Mathieu threw at him.
He was looking forward to taking on home-grown favorite Querrey, perhaps in a marquee night match sure to stir up the New York crowd.
"Of course he's one of the top Americans," Djokovic said. "He has a big serve. On any surface if he serves well he's dangerous to play against."
NISHIKORI THROUGH
Tenth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan advanced to the third round when Pablo Andujar retired with an injury.
Nishikori was leading 6-4, 6-1 when the 48th-ranked Andujar suddenly came to the net. Tournament officials did not immediately detail the nature of the Spaniard's injury.
"It's unfortunate for Pablo today, but I have been playing well ... had good two sets," Nishikori said.
The 24-year-old Nishikori, who has never made it past the fourth round in five previous US Open appearances, has been battling an injury of his own in recent weeks. A severely infected right big toe forced him to miss tuneup events leading up to Flushing Meadows.
Nishikori next faces the winner of 23rd-seeded Leonardo Mayer and Matthew Ebden.
ANOTHER RETIREMENT
French wildcard Michael Llodra was also forced to quit after dropping the first set against German 22nd seed Philipp Kohlschreiber.
So far there have been nine retirements at the US Open where daily temperatures have been touching 32 degrees (90F).
Sam Querrey beat Spain's Guillermo Garcia Lopez for the fourth time in four meetings -- including last week's Winston Salem warm-up -- with his 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory assuring the host country of at least one man in the last 32.
Later on Thursday, Andy Murray, the 2012 champion, meets 27-year-old German qualifier Matthias Bachinger, the world number 235 who won his first career Grand Slam match against Radek Stepanek on Monday.
By SuperSports