Indian Wells: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick each advanced their title bids in triumphant style at the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Sunday without losing a set in the second round.
Second seed Federer beat Russia's Igor Andreev 7-5, 7-6; third-seeded Serb Djokovic crushed Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev 6-0, 6-4; and eighth seed Roddick overpowered fellow American James Blake 6-3, 7-5 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Federer, a three-times champion here, wrapped up his match by clinching the second set tiebreak 7-4 when his opponent, on the stretch with his forehand, was unable to return a probing first serve.
"I played really well," 16-times grand slam champion Federer said courtside. "In the first round, you never have too much expectation and you just hope to get through.
"I had a good 10 minutes where I was able to get up 7-5, 2-0. After (that), he found his way into the match and it really became competitive. I played a really good tiebreak, which obviously makes things better towards the end."
It was Federer's fourth victory over Andreev in four meetings but the first time he had not lost a set to the hard-hitting Russian.
"I knew the danger and that's why I was really pleased with the win today," said Federer, who was immaculately clad in a yellow shirt, white shorts and a white headband.
The Swiss master, who claimed a hat-trick of titles at Indian Wells from 2004, will next face Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela, who came from a set and a break down to beat Germany's Philipp Petzschner 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Australian Open champion Djokovic extended his perfect record this season to 13-0 after storming through the opening set in just 21 minutes and then holding off a brief fightback by Golubev early in the second.
"It was a great start to the tournament," the 23-year-old Serb said. "I was in control most of the match.
"If you're on a run, you don't want to mess up, you don't want to stumble. You just want to keep on going and hold the momentum, so this is what I'm trying to do."
Winner here in 2008 and runner-up the year before, the in-form Djokovic will next meet Latvia's Ernests Gulbis, who battled past Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun 6-7, 7-6, 6-1.
Roddick, who lost to Croat Ivan Ljubicic in last year's final at Indian Wells, powered down 13 aces against Blake and won 94 per cent of his first serve points to seal victory in 90 minutes.
Although he trailed 0-3 in the second set, he broke Blake's erratic serve twice in the next eight games to regain control in dazzling afternoon sunshine.
"It was tough to get a gauge on how I was playing because James was playing so aggressively," Roddick said after dealing effectively with his US Davis Cup teammate's lethal forehand.
"He came out from the first game and I realised his strategy was... he didn't want to let me get into a rhythm. I felt like he was coming out of his shoes.
"It was tough but the numbers (match statistics) looked good afterwards. I felt like I was hitting the ball okay, so it worked out."
The 28-year-old Roddick, who claimed his 30th ATP title in Memphis last month, improved his record this season to 15-2 and will take on compatriot John Isner in the third round.
Isner overpowered Brazil's Ricardo Mello 6-3, 7-6 in the first match of the day on the showpiece stadium court while seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych swept aside Poland's Lukasz Kubot 6-4 6-1.
In other second-round matches, 10th-seeded Austrian Juergen Melzer fought back to beat Frenchman Julien Benneteau 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 and 12th seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland also recovered the loss of the opening set to win 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 against Russian Nikolay Davydenko.
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