Roddick staves off exit, Djokovic wins

NEW YORK - Andy Roddick’s transition from the tennis court to the rocking chair was delayed when the former world number one reached the third round of the U.S. Open on Friday, joining a parade of former champions advancing at the year’s final grand slam.Roddick, who announced a day earlier he would retire at the end of the tournament, served his way past rising Australian talent Bernard Tomic 6-3 6-4 6-0 in his second-round match.Joining Roddick in the winner’s circle Friday were former titlists Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro and Lleyton Hewitt, who reached the third round, and Samantha Stosur and Maria Sharapova, who secured a fourth-round berth.Top-ranked Belarussian Victoria Azarenka, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, needed only 59 minutes to rout China’s Zheng Jie 6-0 6-1.One favourite who was handed a third-round exit was Zheng’s compatriot Li Na, who became the latest victim of British giantkiller Laura Robson.None of Friday’s array of former champions excited the passions of the Flushing Meadows faithful more than Roddick, the never-say-die Texan who never saw a fight he did not like.Roddick, 30, blasted 13 aces in the one hour, 27-minute rout under the lights before nearly 25,000 at raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium.“I had no idea what was going to happen out there honestly, even before the match,” said Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion. “I’ve played a lot of matches. Robson’s gritty 6-4 6-7 6-2 triumph over former French Open champion Li, who triumphed in Cincinnati earlier this month, also created a buzz at Flushing Meadows.