Federer deals easily with Minar obstruction

A RUTHLESS Roger Federer began his US. Open defence with a 61-minute, 6-1 6-1 6-1 thrashing of Ivo Minar.

Federer, the overwhelming favourite for the men’s title, won his 29th consecutive match on a hard court by completely outclassing the Czech.

Despite playing only one tournament since completing a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles in July, the Swiss top seed looked in peak form from the start, lashing forehand winners at will.

“That doesn’t happen very often going into slams,” Federer said. “Usually early on I’m looking for my rhythm. Today it was there straight away. It’s a good sign, a good feeling.”

British number one Tim Henman’s nightmare season continued yesterday as he crashed out to unseeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

Henman, who came into the match struggling for fitness, never got into his stride on the Louis Armstrong Court and eventually went down in straight sets 6-4 6-2 6-2.

The 30-year-old had failed to make it past the third round of any of this year’s Grand Slam events.

Verdasco, 21, was stronger in every department and cruised as Henman wilted in the New York heat.

British number two Greg Rusedski joined his compatriot Henman in crashing out in the first round.

Despite playing some high quality tennis of his own, the 28th seed was quite simply outplayed by New York born 25-year-old James Blake.

Blake was quite simply magnificent, beating the 1997 runner-up in three sets, 7-5 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

Amelie Mauresmo of France cleared the first hurdle in her grand slam plan by overpowering Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-3 6-2.

Third-seeded Mauresmo used her heavier groundstrokes and an accurate serve to push Vinci around the court and benefited from the Italian’s erratic shot-making to claim victory in 63 minutes.

The 26-year-old Frenchwoman, who reached her third successive Wimbledon semi-final this year, took five weeks off from competition after that in a schedule designed to keep her fresh for an assault on the US Open crown for her first grand slam title.

“I spent some time in the south of France, then I went back to Geneva to practise,” Mauresmo said about her hiatus from the tour.

“I thought it was a good break. You come back, you’re feeling fresh and ready.”

“I thought my serve was pretty effective, pretty good today, especially when I was coming in after it. I thought it was pretty strong,” said Mauresmo, who believes staying aggressive is a key to her success.

“I come in with that in my mind, thinking that’s the way I have to play, especially a couple of months after Wimbledon where I play the serve-and-volley game,” said Mauresmo, who came closest to grand slam glory as the losing finalist at the 1999 Australian Open.

Next up for Mauresmo will be Sesil Karatantcheva of Bulgaria, who overcame American Meghann Shaughnessy 2-6 7-5 7-5 in a two hour, 23-minute first-round match.

Belgian seventh seed Justine Henin-Hardenne marched through with a 6-3 6-0 victory over Czech Zuzana Ondraskova on Tuesday.

The French Open champion, who was upset in the first round of Wimbledon in June, ensured there was never any danger of another shock against an opponent ranked 80 in the world.

Henin-Hardenne controlled the match from the outset, outfoxing her opponent by mixing baseline and net play and showing no sign of her recent hamstring strain.

The 2003 US. Open champion faces either Spain’s Maria Sanchez Lorenzo or American Angela Haynes in round two.