• US Open, Day Five

Nadal eases through as Mahut retires

Rafael Nadal had little more than an afternoon workout as Nicolas Mahut retired © PA Photos

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• Profile: Juan Martin Del Potro | John Isner | Rafael Nadal
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Rafael Nadal breezed into the third round of the US Open, as the defending champion was two sets to the good when Nicolas Mahut retired.

Mahut elected to serve and volley, offering Nadal a different challenge to what he normally faces, but it made no difference as the Frenchman only turned himself into a target at the net for Nadal to pass.

The Spaniard, who has not been at his best this season, crunched 24 winners and broke serve on four occasions as he secured safe passage into round three in a shade over an hour and a quarter.

Juan Martin Del Potro backed up his impressive first-round win over Filippo Volandri with a mauling of fellow Argentine Diego Jungueira.

The 18th seed has not been beaten at Flushing Meadows since 2008, having been denied the chance to defend the title he won in 2009 on account of injury, and it could be some time before he is beaten again judged on his 6-2 6-1 7-5 win.

The Argentine's game is built on a powerful serve and crunching forehand and for two sets he was in full working order, as he dropped just eight points in serve. He had the match in his grasp but started to look a little jaded and dropped his serve when serving for the match at 5-4 in the third. It became a bit of a struggle, but he was able to break again and eventually closed out the match.

David Ferrer easily accounted for American veteran James Blake, with the fifth seed cruising to a 6-4 6-3 6-4 victory. The Spaniard hit fewer aces and winners than his American counterpart, but Blake undid alot of his good work with wayward groundstrokes, tallying 51 unforced errors for the match.

John Isner won the battle of the Americans on Louis Armstrong Stadium, with the No. 28 seed blasting down 20 aces in his 6-4 6-3 6-4 win over Robby Ginepri. 21st seed Andy Roddick took to Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday evening against youngster Jack Sock, and easily defeated his fellow Nebraskan 6-3 6-3 6-4 in a routine win.

Donald Young gave the home fans in New York more reason to cheer when showing true battling skills to beat Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets. There were times when Wawrinka's play was a joy to behold, but he could not shake off Young who forced a fifth set tiebreak and held his nerve the better to claim a 7-6(7) 3-6 2-6 6-3 7-6(1) win.

No. 12 seed Gilles Simon overcame a slip-up midway through his match with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to tough out a four-set win. Both players compiled over 50 unforced errors in the match, but Simon's court craft came to the fore late on as he recorded a 6-4 6(4)-7 7-5 6-3 win.

Ernests Gulbis had been tipped by some to go deep into the tournament, but the Latvian's challenge ended at the hands of Gilles Muller who claimed a 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4 7-6(5) win, while Julien Benneteau beat Denis Istomin in straight sets and Juan Ignacio Chela did the same to Steve Darcis.

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