Federer overcomes Alves challenge

Roger Federer was able to overcome a sloppy performance against unheralded Brazilian Thiago Alves to reach the third round of the US Open.

The second-seeded Federer nearly had as many unforced errors as winners in a tougher-than-expected 6-3 7-5 6-4 victory over the 26-year-old Alves, who is ranked 137th in the world.