Federer, Roddick through 2nd round

BEIJING, March 31 -- Top-seeded Roger Federer's quest for a belated 2008 title took a step forward with a straight sets win over Frenchman Gael Monfils at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, on Saturday.

The world No. 1 beat Monfils 6-3, 6-4 in the second round - the Swiss had a first-round bye - to set up a clash with Swede Robin Soderling in the third round. "I played well on the big points," Federer said. "The times he had break points, many times I served well and stayed aggressive. All in all, I played a very good match."

Soderling prepared for the Federer match with a win over another Swiss, beating Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The No. 4-seeded Nikolay Davydenko struggled but survived, finally downing Latvian Ernests Gulbis 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3), and will meet Simone Bolelli in round three. The Italian beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-3.

Spaniard David Ferrer, the fifth seed, was the major casualty of the day, losing to veteran Swede Thomas Johansson 6-4, 7-5, opening up that quarter of the draw for Russian Davydenko.

Also, No. 13 Andy Murray, struggling with his serve throughout, wasted two match points before losing to Mario Ancic of Croatia 2-6, 6-2, 6-7 (4).

Home crowd favorite Andy Roddick had a tough fight against Serbian qualifier Viktor Troicki before prevailing 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. Roddick hit a winner not found in any textbook at a critical time in the final set.

With Troicki serving at 4-5 in the final game, a rally forced Roddick to the sideline near the net, and when Troicki sliced a volley to the other side, Roddick chased down the ball as it bounced away from him, then spun to yank a backhand crosscourt onto the line for an extraordinary winner.

"I didn't even see it," Roddick said. "I heard people yell and scream afterward, and I figured that was a good thing. As far as freak show trick shots, that's up there. You don't hit shots like that every day."

In the women's draw, No. 2-seeded Ana Ivanovic cruised past France's Emilie Loit 6-1, 6-2, and will next meet Lindsay Davenport. The American also beat a French opponent, and also did it with ease, downing Camille Pin 6-2, 6-1. Another Serb Jelena Jankovic, seeded fourth, had to dig very deep to beat Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6-7 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (9).

(Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)