Kerber, Berdych advance in Miami

Miami - Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber and Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych both advanced to the third round of the ATP and WTA Miami Open on Friday.

Kerber, the second seed from Germany, downed Czech Barbora Strycova 6-1, 6-1 while Berdych, the Miami runner-up in 2010 when he also reached his lone Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, won by walkover when American Rajeev Ram withdrew due to illness.

Berdych, who like all seeds had a first-round bye, will not take the court until Sunday, when he faces either American Steve Johnson or Germany's Alexander Zverev.

Kerber raced through the first set in 32 minutes, firing 10 winners and aided by 15 unforced errors from Strycova, and broke three times in the second set, the last to love to end matters after only 63 minutes.

"I was trying to be focused, just playing my game," Kerber said. "First matches can be tricky."

Next up for Kerber, whose best Miami showing was a 2014 quarter-final run, is either Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens or Russian 25th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

World number one Novak Djokovic, trying to complete an Indian Wells-Miami back-to-back double for the third year in a row, and 17-time Grand Slam singles champion Roger Federer, returning from an eight-week layoff after left knee surgery, open their Miami title quests later Friday.

Serbian top seed Djokovic, who won his 11th major title at the Australian Open in January, begins chasing his sixth career Miami crown against Britain's 87th-ranked Kyle Edmund.

Swiss 34-year-old third seed Federer, who won at Miami in 2005 and 2006 but has not reached the final since, opens against Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro, playing only his third event since undergoing left wrist surgery last year.

Scores on Friday from the fourth day of the ATP and WTA Miami Open (x denotes seeded player):

Men

Second round

Tomas Berdych (CZE x7) bt Rajeev Ram (USA), walkover, illness

Marin Cilic (CRO x11) bt Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 6-4, 6-1

Dominic Thiem (AUT x14) bt Sam Groth (AUS) 7-5, 6-2

Lucas Pouille (FRA) bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP x32) 6-2, 6-4

Women

Second round

Angelique Kerber (GER x2) bt Barbora Strycova (CZE) 6-1, 6-1