Roger Federer Advances to Round of 16 With Straight-Set Victory

NEW YORK -- Roger Federer completed yet another of his ho-hum, early-round victories in his seven-year run at the U.S. Open, defeating Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday afternoon.

"I thought I played great today in the wind," said Federer, referring to the strong wind gusts that affected players all day at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Federer has won each of his opening three matches at this year's Open in straight sets. With his loss in last year's final to Juan Martin del Potro the only blemish, Federer has won 43 of his last 44 matches in Flushing Meadows dating back to 2004.

Federer was far from perfect on Saturday, but he had more than enough to break Mathieu's serve once in the first set, twice in the second and once in the third. In contrast, the 28-year-old Frenchman managed just one break point on Federer's serve, but failed to convert. Federer won 85 percent of points on his first serve.

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Tied with Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras with five championships, Federer is looking to set an Open era record by winning his sixth U.S. Open title.

In the fourth round on Monday, Federer will face No. 13 seed Jurgen Melzer, who defeated No. 22 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets on Saturday. Federer is well-acquainted with Melzer.

"Melzer is a good friend of mine," said Federer. "We came up through juniors together. I played him (and won) in Wimbledon, so we'll see."

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