• US Open

Djokovic barely has to break sweat

Joao Sousa seems to be waving the white flag during his third-round drubbing by Novak Djokovic © AP

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The prime-time match on the first Sunday of the US Open proved a one-sided bore as top-seeded Novak Djokovic thrashed Joao Sousa 6-0, 6-2, 6-2.

Djokovic broke eight times and hit 34 winners in his one hour 40 minutes on court. Sousa broke his serve in the penultimate game of the match before losing the next to love to seal his fate.

Djokovic will next face Marcel Granollers, a 6-4, 4-6, 0-6, 6-3, 7-5 winner over wild-card recipient Tim Smyczek. Ranked 109th, Smyczek was the last of 15 Americans in the men's field. His departure makes this the first US Open in history without at least one representative from the host country in the fourth round. It also means no US man reached the fourth round at any of the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2013.

Fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych played his match on the Grandstand, the third-largest stadium at Flushing Meadows. In a sport dominated by four players, Berdych is easily overlooked. The Czech routed No. 31-seeded Julien Benneteau 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 and has yet to drop a set. "It was a bit hot, a bit humid, but otherwise, tennis was good," Berdych said. "I managed to stay focused from the first point 'til the last. Didn't do any ups and downs." He will face ninth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka.

Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 US Open champ, returned to the last 16 at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2006. At age 32, the Australian is back from years of injuries to make another run. He beat 102nd-ranked Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1.

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