• Sony Ericsson Open

Roddick crashes out as Federer powers on

ESPN staff
March 26, 2011
Roger Federer has only lost to Novak Djokovic so far this season © Getty Images
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Sony Ericsson Open seedings

An under-the-weather Andy Roddick was the shock second-round casualty on Saturday at the Sony Ericsson Open, losing 6-4 7-6(4) to Pablo Cuevas.

Roddick was forced to seek medical attention at the start of the second set after apparently suffering breathing difficulties, but he battled on valiantly despite struggling to impart any power on his groundstrokes.

World No. 67 Cuevas was able to claim the biggest scalp of his career - and set up a third-round clash with Gilles Simon - thanks to a crucial break in the opening frame.

Elsewhere, Roger Federer swept aside Radek Stepanek, winning 6-3 6-3 in 62 minutes. Federer looked a cut above his opponent for the entirety of the contest, snatching three breaks and offering Stepanek just one opportunity to hit back.

With the victory, his 762nd in the Open Era, Federer has moved level with Pete Sampras at No. 7 in the list of match wins. "I thought I was solid - he had one chance with a break point in the first set, and that was it, really," said Federer, who plays Juan Monaco next. "I think I was able to control the match. I'm playing well, we'll see if that's going to be enough."

Rafael Nadal was satisfied with his straightforward 6-4 6-4 victory over Kei Nishikori. "I'm very happy about how I played. I think I played at a high level tonight," Nadal said. "The feeling was better than last week, so that's important. My serve worked very well at the end of the match."

Elsewhere, Mikhail Youzhny fired a warning shot to the rest of the field by dismantling Yen-Hsun Lu 6-1 6-0, despite landing just over half of his first serves in play. Lu's second delivery was cannon fodder for the Russian, who won 15 of 21 points when the pace was off the ball.

Jo Wilfried-Tsonga survived a second-set wobble to defeat Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3. The match hadn't looked like a particularly dangerous one for Tsonga - Gabashvili had won two games all year heading into the tournament - but he served poorly in the second set, and his Georgian opponent took full advantage.

Meanwhile, tenth seed Jurgen Melzer was dumped out of the tournament by doubles partner Philipp Petzschner, who won 6-3 6-4 to maintain his unbeaten record against Melzer.

Elsewhere, seeds Ernests Gulbis, Marcos Baghdatis, Juan Ignacio Chela and Albert Montanes suffered a premature exit.

Andy Murray's interest in the tournament was ended completely after he and Novak Djokovic went out of the doubles.

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