Berdych Wins in Straight Sets Again at US Open

(AP) Berdych wins in straight sets again at US Open
By RACHEL COHEN
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK
Fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych played his third-round match on the Grandstand, the third-largest stadium at the U.S. Open.

In a sport dominated by four players, Berdych is easily overlooked. But he is cruising so far at Flushing Meadows, where he reached the semifinals last year after beating Roger Federer.

The Czech routed No. 31-seeded Julien Benneteau 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday and has yet to drop a set at this year’s U.S. Open.

Berdych, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the 2010 Wimbledon final, will face ninth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka in the round of 16.

Wawrinka beat Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (7).

Bob and Mike Bryan were down a set and a break against unseeded Canadians Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil in their third-round doubles match before rallying for a 6-7 (1), 7-5, 6-2 victory. The defending champs are trying to become the first men’s double team of the Open era, and the first since 1951, to win all four major tournaments in the same year.

They’ve already achieved a “Bryan Slam” with four straight titles starting with the 2012 U.S. Open.

Defending men’s champ Andy Murray followed the Bryans at Arthur Ashe Stadium, facing Florian Mayer. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic is scheduled to open the night session against Joao Sousa.

But the biggest show of the day comes in between those two matches. Defending women’s champ Serena Williams is set to take on fellow American Sloane Stephens, a rematch craved by tennis fans ever since Stephens upset a hobbled Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January. The 20-year-old Stephens is seeded 15th.

Struggling with returning serve, the top-seeded Bryans switched sides after the opening set for the first time in about three years.

After going down a break at 3-4 in the second set, the American twins immediately broke back against the 40-year-old Nestor’s serve. They clinched the set by breaking his serve again, with Nestor double-faulting twice in the game, including on match point.

The Bryans broke his serve twice more in the third set to advance.