Sharapova, Del Potro cruise, Soderling, Williams withdraw from U.S. Open

Third-seeded Maria Sharapova breezed past Anastasia Yakimova in 70 minutes to reach the second round of the U.S. Open, while Robin Soderling and Venus Williams both pulled out due to illness on Wednesday. The Russian enjoyed a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 victory over Yakimova of Belarus on night session, doing a far easy job from the more than two and a half hours she needed in a three-set win over Heather Watson in her opener two days before. Andy Roddick, seeded 21, held onto avoid a first-round upset at the Grand Slam tournament he won in 2003, beating 96th-ranked compatriot Michael Russell 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. The sixth seed Robin Soderling and Venus Williams pulled out of the tournament prior to the two matches kicking off both for illness. It's the first match for Soderling's U.S. Open campaign against Louk Sorensen, but it was over before it began when the Swede was forced to withdraw due to wrist injury and virus affection. Just hours later, Williams followed up the suit. Williams was out of the U.S. Open because of an illness called Sjogren's Syndrome before her second-round match against 22nd seeded Sabine Lisicki. Williams claimed energy draining, extreme fatigue and joint pain and expressed disappointment over her withdrawal. In a quick dismatch, Sharapova had 28 winners to two for her opponent. She won 59 points to 32 for Yakimova and saved all five break points against her. Sharapova, who has three Grand Slam titles in hand, will play No. 26 Flavia Pennetta in the third round. "The next match is certainly not the final," she said. "We're in the third round. There are many more to go. It only gets tougher from here." "But that's what's so special about being a winner at the end of the tournament. You have to play every match. It's a road. Hopefully, I'll get to that stage." After breezing through the first two sets against Russell, Roddick began to run into trouble in the third, and then fell behind by a break in the fourth. Roddick, who turned 29 on Tuesday, will face 18-year-old Jack Sock of the United States next. Both of the players are from the Nebraska. "I was joking with someone today," Roddick said. "I said, 'I think we're the only two teenagers to play tennis in Nebraska in the last 30 years, and we're both in the U.S. Open.'" In the earlier matches of women's second round draw, second-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva had to go through three ragged sets to reach the third round, beating 69th-ranked Kateryna Bondarenko 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Eighth-seed Marion Bartoli of France failed to advance into the third round, losing to U.S. player Christina McHale 7-6 (2), 6-2. Australia's Samantha Stosur, seeded nine, powered off American Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-4. China's Peng Shuai, No. 13 of the tournament, dispatched Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets of 6-2, 6-4. In the first round of men's draw, World No. 4 Andy Murray demolished Indian Somdev Devvarman in straight sets, but it took him much longer than the former champion Juan Martin del Potro. Murray had to shrug off a slow start before he went off the Indian after 2 hours and 27 minutes with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-3 victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Murray hit eight aces among his 41 winners and committed 44 unforced errors, but broke Devvarman's serve seven times. Del Potro, who won the Open in 2009 but is seeded 18th this year, subdued Italian Filippo Volandri 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour, 28 minutes. 10th-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro was eliminated by Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. 25th-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez defeated Japan's Tatsuma Ito 6-2, 6-4, 6-4, while 12th-seeded Gilles Simon of France bt Ricardo Mello from Brazil 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.