New York - Second seed Roger Federer served up a tidy 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over big-hitting Australian Sam Groth to ease into the third round of the US Open on Friday and continue his march towards an 18th grand slam title.
Federer has feasted on Australian opponents in grand slams down the years, piling up an 18-1 record against men from Down Under, and Groth, who was facing a top 10 opponent for the first time, proved little more than a distraction to the Swiss maestro.
The burly Groth, who had a brief stint as an Australian Rules football player in 2011, stepped out onto Arthur Ashe Stadium court looking ready for a fight but in the end could only wave the white flag as Federer closed out the match with an ace, sweeping through the final four games.
Next up for the five-time US Open champion is Spain's Marcel Granollers, who won 7-6(6) 6-7(3) 7-6(5) 3-6 6-4 over 25th seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia.
Reuters