• US Open - Men's Draw

Davydenko crashes out to graceful Gasquet

Richard Gasquet saved eight break points against Nikolay Davydenko © Getty Images

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Day Four Gallery

Sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko is out of the US Open after he fell to the enigmatic Richard Gasquet in straight sets on Thursday.

Davydenko crashes out at the second-round stage after being dictated to by Gasquet throughout the match, with the Frenchman claiming an impressive 6-3 6-4 6-2 triumph. The Russian did not claim one break of service in the match, and he departs New York with something of a whimper.

To be fair to Gasquet, the Frenchman's tennis over the first set and a half was nothing short of electric. Typically classy off either wing, he implemented a serve and volley tactic mixed with no shortage of baseline winners as Davydenko was forced onto the back foot. A break, the only one of the first set, arrived in the sixth game to hand Gasquet a 4-2 advantage, and after saving a break point in the next game he served out the set.

Davydenko, still far from his best following a wrist problem, appeared to be there for the taking, and after six Gasquet-dominated games at the start of the second set, Davydenko produced a glaring error at the net to hand Gasquet a 4-3 lead. A backlash was expected from the Russian, but instead he offered Gasquet three of the easiest points he will ever play when serving for the set.

The lack of fight in Davydenko's performance was arguably the most concerning factor in his defeat as he quickly offered up another break at the start of the third, lapped up gratefully by the irresistible Gasquet. Few players can match the Frenchman's style on a tennis court when he gets things right, and his range of volleying and passing shots were a joy to watch as he broke again to effectively end the contest.

Victory eventually arrived in a shade under two hours, causing yet another big upset after the shock departure of Andy Roddick on Wednesday.

Roger Federer enjoyed a routine passage into round three, completely outclassing Germany's Andreas Beck 6-3 6-4 6-3. Federer broke Beck in his very first service game, and it set the tone for the entire contest as the Swiss hit 29 winners.

The world No. 2 is chasing his sixth US Open title in the past seven years, having lost just once in that time to Juan Martin Del Potro in last year's final. Federer claims he is feeling fitter than he has for a long time after a self-imposed break, and his trademark poise was there as he raced into a 5-0 advantage, eventually taking the first set in 27 minutes

Roger Federer made only 18 unforced errors © Getty Images

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Unlike past years when Federer has taken on an air of invincibility in this tournament, he did throw up the odd poor service game, losing his serve at the end of the first set and then offering another break opportunity at the start of the second. However, Beck wasted his chance by sinking a forehand into the net and within the blink of an eye Federer had upped his advantage to two sets to love.

Now working under new coach Paul Annacone, there were clear signs of new facets to Federer's game as he approached the net in uncharacteristic manner, and victory was a precession as he wrapped things up in an hour and 41 minutes.

Novak Djokovic was grateful to get off the court after coming through a testing straight-sets victory over Philipp Petzschner. The German displayed his wide range of shots in the late match on centre court, mixing powerful flat serves with well-disguised drop shots and everything in between. Djokovic had to be at or near his best for most of the match to wrap up a 7-5 6-3 7-6 win that looked more comfortable on paper than it ever was.

Next up for Djokovic is local favourite James Blake who was spurred on to a come-from-behind 6-7 6-3 6-2 6-4 win over Canada's Peter Polansky.

Earlier in the day, Mardy Fish lived up to his billing as one of the form players coming into this US Open, but he had to correct a poor start before defeating Pablo Cuevas 7-5 6-0 6-2 to reach round three. Fish, who won titles at Newport and Atlanta in the build-up to the final Grand Slam of the year, appeared to be on his way to losing the first set before he broke back for 5-5. The American then completed back-to-back breaks to claim the first set, before going on to totally exert his control.

A flawless performance in the second stanza saw Fish leap all over his opponent's serve, taking the set to love, at which point the No. 19 seed was playing some of the best tennis of his career. Cuevas battled gamely in the third but inevitably fell 2-4 behind, and Fish's serve was almost impenetrable as he saved 14 of 15 break points, booking his place in the next round.

Big-serving 11th seed Marin Cilic is out after he lost a five-hour war against flamboyant Japanese star Kei Nishikori. Cilic was beaten 5-7 7-6(6) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-1 in a match that produced just two breaks of serve in the opening four sets. In the end Nishikori, who was beaten by Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, handled the tough conditions much better and accelerated through the final set for victory.

Elsewhere, fifth seed Robin Soderling was far too powerful for Taylor Dent, winning 6-2 6-2 6-4, and No. 21 seed Albert Montanes breezed past Carsten Ball 6-4 6-3 6-1.

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