New York, Sept. 5: Soon after sweeping imperiously into the fourth round of the U.S. Open with a third successive straight-sets win on Saturday, Roger Federer was turning up the pressure on his main title rival Rafael Nadal.

Federer, who beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, said Nadal must win the US Open if he is ever going to be considered one of the game’s greats. While Federer has won all of the Grand Slam titles at least once, Nadal is stuck on three, with the US crown proving elusive. “Clearly, he has a chance because he’s young enough. I guess he would need to win the US Open to put himself there,” Federer said.

Another of the title hopefuls, Novak Djokovic, signalled he may yet deny both men the title by sweeping past James Blake 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-3. His next opponent will be the in-form Mardy Fish, who won a five-setter against veteran Arnaud Clement 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Robin Soderling remained on course for a quarterfinal clash with Federer by cruising past Thiemo de Bakker 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.

In the women’s draw, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki defeated Chan Yung-jan 6-1, 6-0; Maria Sharapova gave young American Beatrice Capra a tennis lesson, 6-0, 6-0; former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Russian compatriot Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-4; Dominika Cibulkova trounced Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-0, 6-1, while Yanina Wickmayer beat Patty Schnyder, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (6).

Selected Results

Men’s singles third round (number in brackets denotes seeding): Roger Federer (2), Switzerland, bt Paul-Henri Mathieu, France, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3; Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia, bt James Blake, United States, 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-3; Robin Soderling (5), Sweden, bt Thiemo de Bakker, Netherlands, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3; Jurgen Melzer (13), Austria, bt Juan Carlos Ferrero (22), Spain, 7-5, 6-3, 6-1; Gael Monfils (17), France, bt Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4; Mardy Fish (19), United States, bt Arnaud Clement, France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; Albert Montanes (21), Spain, bt Kei Nishikori, Japan, 6-2, 2-1, retired; Juan Carlos Ferrero (22), Spain, lost to Jurgen Melzer (13), 7-5, 6-3, 6-1; Richard Gasquet, France, bt Kevin Anderson, South Africa, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5.

Women’s singles third round (number in brackets denotes seeding): Caroline Wozniacki (1), Denmark, bt Chan Yung-jan, Taiwan, 6-1, 6-0; Jelena Jankovic (4), Serbia, lost to Kaia Kanepi (31), Estonia, 6-2, 7-6 (1); Vera Zvonareva (7), Russia, bt Alexandra Dulgheru (25), Romania, 6-2, 7-6 (2); Svetlana Kuznetsova (11), Russia, bt Maria Kirilenko (23), Russia, 6-3, 6-4; Maria Sharapova (14), Russia, bt Beatrice Capra, United States, 6-0, 6-0; Yanina Wickmayer (15), Belgium, bt Patty Schnyder, Switzerland, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (6); Alexandra Dulgheru (25), lost to Vera Zvonareva (7), Russia, 6-2, 7-6 (2); Kaia Kanepi (31), Estonia, bt Jelena Jankovic (4), Serbia, 6-2, 7-6 (1); Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia, bt Lourdes Dominguez, Spain, 6-0, 6-1.

Pic Caption:
Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia yells after defeating compatriot Maria Kirlenko in a third round match at the US Open tennis tournament in New York on Saturday night. Kuznetsova won 6-3, 6-4.