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Cincinnati - Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray won their opening matches at the Cincinnati Masters in straight sets on Wednesday, getting accustomed to the heat after spending the last two weeks in London and Canada.
Top-seed in the women's draw, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, also advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden.
Djokovic won the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Sunday night but was a little off in his opening set on a court baked in sunshine and 86-degree heat at Mason, just outside Cincinnati, and then pulled away from Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
Murray had the best moment of his career at Wimbledon, winning the Olympic gold on home soil. He had to withdraw from the Rogers Cup because of a sore knee, which he blamed on the transition from grass to hard courts.
Murray moved around the court well during his match against American Sam Querrey, taking control early in a 6-2, 6-4 win. Querrey repeatedly missed open shots while falling behind and managed only two break points during the match, both of which Murray saved.
Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan quit her match while trailing in the second set, overcome by the heat, and also dropped out of her later doubles match.
Radwanska, who received a first-round bye, felt a little rusty.
"The first match is always more difficult, with the different balls and conditions," she said. "I was happy to get through it, especially since it was very hot. Hopefully, I'll better (Thursday)."
Radwanska, who lost to Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final and is ranked No 3 in the world, will next meet Sloane Stephens of the United States, who got into the tournament as a wildcard.
"I'll just go out and play my game," Stephens said, adding with a smile, "I'm not going to tell you how I'm going to play, because she'll probably read this and know how to play."
Eleventh-seeded Dominika Cibulkova withdrew with an injury after losing the first set in a tie-breaker against qualifier Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic. China's Shuai Peng also advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Roberta Vinci of Italy.
In men's action, No 10-seeded Mardy Fish of the United States advanced to the third round by defeating Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 6-3, 6-1. Serbian Victor Troicki moved on to the third round with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Nikolay Davydenko of Russia beat Florian Meyer of Germany 6-3, 6-3.
Fish was happy to advance relatively easily against an unfamiliar opponent while still working back into form after a surgical procedure to correct a heart condition in May.
"It was nice to get on and off quickly, especially with a win," said Fish, who'd never played Berlocq in singles. "You also can get on and off quickly with a loss. It's somewhat tricky. You never know what to expect. I played as well today as I have all summer. He's a good player. If you're not on top of your game, you could be in trouble."
Latest results from the third day of the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Masters Series event on Wednesday (x denotes seeding):
Men
Second round
Novak Djokovic (SRB x2) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 7-6 (7/4), 6-2
Juan Martin del Potro (ARG x6) bt Tommy Haas (GER) 7-5, 6-2
Mardy Fish (USA x10) bt Carlos Berlocq (ARG) 6-3, 6-1
Tomas Berdych (CZE x5) bt Lu Yen-Hsun (TPE) 6-3, 6-4
Viktor Troicki (SRB) bt Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 6-2, 6-0
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) bt Florian Mayer (GER) 6-3, 6-3
Andy Murray (GBR) bt Sam Querrey (US) 6-2, 6-4.
Women
Second round
Elena Makarova (RUS) bt Anna Tatishvili (GEO) 7-5, 6-2
Sara Errani (ITA x7) bt Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 6-4, 6-4
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x1) bt Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 6-4, 6-3
Sloane Stephens (USA) bt Camila Giorgi (ITA) 6-2, 6-1
Johanna Larsson (SWE) bt Marion Bartoli (FRA x8) 6-4, 6-2
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS x17) bt Julia Gorges (GER) 6-3, 6-0
Peng Shuai (CHN) bt Roberta Vinci (ITA) 6-3, 6-4
Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) bt Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x11) 7-6 (7/1), 4-1 rtd
Serena Williams (USA x2) bt Eleni Daniilidou (GRE) 6-3, 6-4
