Federer, Djokovic power into 3rd round

Kvitova, Wozniacki safely through in Cincinnati Masters.

Four-time champion Roger Federer crushed Alex Bogomolov 6-3, 6-2, leading the world’s best players into the third round of the Cincinnati Masters.

World number one Federer  was untouchable in his first outing since the Olympics, and will now face Australia’s Bernard Tomic. Federer won the trophy in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010 and is bidding for some personal Masters 1000 history as he chases a fifth title.

Second-seed Novak Djokovic made a scratchy start while Andy Murray motored through, as the pair of seeds won their opening matches after first round byes. The Serb defeated Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, but he was not impressed with his form, dubbing the win ‘not a great performance’, though he improves to a 9-0 record over Seppi, whom he struggled with at Roland Garros in a comeback from two sets down in the fourth round.

Murray, the Olympic gold medalist who played one match last week in Toronto and then quit with a sore knee, showed no sign of injury as he knocked out American Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-4, in just 83 minutes.

In the women’s second round, top seed Agnieszka Radwanska dispatched Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6-4, 6-3. Fourth-seed Petra Kvitova defeated German Mona Barthel 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, while number six Caroline Wozniacki hammered Sesil Karatantcheva 6-1, 6-0.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2012.