Under-par Fed still too good

Roger Federer was far from his best but still made comfortable progress to the US Open third round beating Brazil's Thiago Alves.

The four-time defending champion was given a workout by the world number 137 but had plenty in reserve as he completed his 29th consecutive victory at Flushing Meadows, and 600th career win, in straight sets, 6-3 7-5 6-4.
The Swiss second seed made an uncharacteristic 46 unforced errors in the match and only managed to convert four of 15 break points, while suffering just the one break of serve in the third set.
However, Federer also came up with 19 aces and 54 winners and was generally happy with his performance.
"I was never really in danger, so it was actually pretty good for me," he said. "I knew the longer the match would go the more tired he would get, so it was a good match for me.
"I served really well which is a big bonus."
The world number two will now take on 28th seed Radek Stepanek, who saw off unseeded Australian Chris Guccione 6-4 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-2.