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New York - Top seed Caroline Wozniacki eased into the US Open last 16 on Saturday as Tomas Berdych became the latest victim of the injury curse which has swept through the season's last Grand Slam tournament.
Wozniacki, the runner-up to Kim Clijsters in 2009 and still searching for an elusive first major, made the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over America's world number 103 Vania King.
The Dane next faces either 15th-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 champion, or Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova, ranked 118 in the world.
Czech ninth seed Berdych became the 17th player to quit the US Open through injury or illness when he retired from his third round match against Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.
Berdych was suffering from a right shoulder injury and needed treatment at the end of the first set, which he lost 6-4, and then called it quits when he was down 5-0 in the second.
The 25-year-old said he first felt the injury in his Cincinnati Masters quarter-final win over Roger Federer two weeks ago before it caused him to quit his semi-final against Novak Djokovic.
"I already knew there was a problem. I had it in Cincinnati, so it was a case of just trying," he said.
Tipsarevic will be playing in his first US Open fourth round where he will tackle either former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero or Marcel Granollers.
"I was happy to win the first set because I don't think it had anything to do with the injury. Then I raised my game. I didn't want to ease off and allow him back into the match," said Tipsarevic, who has now won all four of his meetings with Berdych.
Later Saturday, men's top seed Novak Djokovic eyes his 60th win in 62 matches this season when he tackles Russian veteran Nikolay Davydenko, a semi-finalist in 2006 and 2007.
Serb world number one Djokovic enjoys a 4-2 winning record over the 30-year-old, including a second round win in the recent Montreal Masters, a tournament he went on to capture.
Djokovic has lost just three games in his first two rounds as he bids to win a first US Open title and add to the Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns he has already collected in his record-breaking year.
Five-time champion Roger Federer, seeded three, bids for a last 16 place when he meets Croatian 27th seed Marin Cilic.
A win would mean the Swiss superstar will reach the fourth round for a 30th straight Grand Slam, a run which began at Wimbledon in 2004.
Three-time women's champion Serena Williams takes a 5-1 career record over Belarusian fourth seed Victoria Azarenka into their third round encounter.
Williams has dropped just three games so far at this year's event.
In a tournament which saw former winner Maria Sharapova, French Open champion Li Na and Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova all fail to get beyond the second round, the American is now the favourite to capture a fourth US Open.
Former world number ones from Serbia Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic are also on court.
Ivanovic faces unseeded American Sloane Stephens while 2008 runner-up Jankovic meets Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
