Federer advances to fourth round at US Open

Roger Federer is looking to regain the aura of invincibility he once owned and says a fifth consecutive US Open victory would be just the thing to put him back atop the tennis world.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion won his 30th consecutive US Open match, defeating Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 Sunday to reach the fourth round of the year's last major tournament.

Federer lost to top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon and French Open finals and was dethroned from the rankings summit two weeks ago after a record 237-week reign.

But the Swiss superstar sees the Federer Express only one Slam title away from getting back on track.

"I would think so. That's the advantage I have," Federer said. "If I win a big tournament, right away I have the invincibility factor again. "I almost had it at Wimbledon. I would hope to go a step further and have that invincibility factor again."

Federer remains two Slam singles crowns shy of Pete Sampras' all-time record of 14 as he tries to become the first player since Bill Tilden in 1924 to win five US titles in a row, dispatching Stepanek in formidable fashion. "Today was pretty breezy so I tried to keep the ball in the court, not on the lines so much," Federer said. "I returned well. I moved well on the baseline.

I served well and that's a good sign for the rest of the tournament.

"I'm playing well not wasting any energy and moving on. But the important thing is winning the tourmnament. I don't try to impress anybody in the early rounds."

Federer's win streak at Flushing Meadows since losing to David Nalbandian in the round of 16 in 2003 does not include a fourth-round walkover in 2004.

He has not fallen short of the fourth round at a Slam since the 2004 French Open. "I'm proud of my run at the majors," Federer said. "To put myself in that position is always a good feeling. I feel like it could happen again here."

Never in tennis history have players met in the finals of three consecutive Slams in the same year but Nadal and Federer are in position to make it happen next Sunday.

Federer said he has never felt down about his game despite a dropoff in his dominance. He had won 12 of the past 18 Slams before 2008 but has won none in 2008 and has no hardcourt crown for the first time since 2001. "I've never felt terrible.

I guess I always had a good spirit," Federer said. "I was working out hard. In practice I was never really down. You wonder what you want to do to change and I guess I never really felt that." Stepanek was denied his first trip to the US Open's fourth round, falling to 2-10 in the third round at Slams even though he had beaten Federer in the Rome quarter-finals on clay in May.

"It's nice to beat him but he played really well in Rome," Federer said. "That was a pretty tough loss for me." Federer will next face Russia's Igor Andreev, who eliminated Spanish 13th seed Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.

Russian fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko, who lost to Federer in the US Open semi-finals each of the past two years, also reached the round of 16 by defeating 27th-ranked compatriot Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. Davydenko next faces Luxembourg qualifier Gilles Muller, who outlasted Spain's Nicolas Almagro 6-7 (3/7), 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.

Since winning his 14th career title in June at Warsaw, Davydenko had lost four of six matches before the Open. But he has found top form again and could face the Federer express again in this year's quarter-finals.

"I'm not top fit but I need to do everything to be top fit, fight every point," Davydenko said. "I'm really happy to win three rounds in three sets."

Also advancing to the last 16 was US eighth seed Andy Roddick, who defeated Italy's Andreas Steppi 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4).

NEW YORK, Monday AFP