NEW YORK — Roger Federer looked every bit a champion and stayed perfect at this U.S. Open. Andy Roddick showed shades of winning form, too.
No longer No. 1, Federer beat Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday and breezed into the round of 16.
To win his first Grand Slam of the season, Federer needs to take his fifth consecutive title at Flushing Meadows. He has not lost a set in three matches, and raised his right fist after zinging a final, winning forehand down the line.
“I guess it’s just nice to play well. Pretty simple,” the No. 2 Federer said. “No complaints.”
Roddick, the last man to win the Open before Federer, beat No. 31 Andreas Seppi 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (4).
The eighth-seeded Roddick usually relies on his power serve. Down in the tiebreaker, he smartly served from the shadows into the bright sun, launching a wide, 126 mph ace that blinded Seppi.
“This is probably the most intimidating court in the world if you’ve never been on it before,” said Roddick, who next will play No. 11 Fernando Gonzalez, a 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1 winner over Jarkko Nieminen.
Federer’s next opponent is No. 23 Igor Andreev, who beat No. 13 Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. In other men’s third-round matches: No. 3 Novak Djokovic beat No. 30 Marin Cilic 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (0); No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko eliminated No. 26 Dmitry Tursunov; Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost to No. 15 Tommy Robredo; and qualifier Gilles Muller fashioned a 6-7 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), 7-5 upset of No. 18 Nicolas Almagro.
This isn’t his first moment in the spotlight at Flushing Meadows: Muller stunned Roddick in the first round in 2005. Since then, only Federer has beaten Roddick at the U.S. Open, in the 2006 final and the 2007 quarterfinals.
The women are a round ahead, and No. 2 Jelena Jankovic reached the quarterfinals by coming back to beat No. 21 Caroline Wozniacki 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Jankovic is among five women with a shot at reaching No. 1 in the rankings.
“It’s a goal,” Jankovic said, “but I want to win a Grand Slam.”
Another woman in the chase for No. 1 — and also without a major championship title — is Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva, who beat Li Na 6-4, 6-1 and now faces No. 15 Patty Schnyder.
Jankovic will meet No. 29 Sybille Bammer, who got past No. 12 Marion Bartoli 7-6 (3), 0-6, 6-4 in a match that lasted 3 hours, 5 minutes — believed to be the longest women’s match, by time, in U.S. Open history.
