US Open: Federer motors into quarter-finals

NEW YORK: Top seed Roger Federer rolled to his fourth consecutive straight-sets victory with a 6-3 7-6 6-3 triumph over France's Marc Gicquel at the US Open on Wednesday.

Federer, seeking his third straight Open title, won the first three games of the match without losing a point but the 29-year-old Gicquel settled down and fought gamely.

In the quarter-finals, eight-times grand slam champion Federer will play either American James Blake or Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

Federer blasted 15 aces and had 42 winners but Gicquel stayed in the one hour, 46-minute match by committing only 22 unforced errors, seven fewer than the Swiss.

The 79th-ranked Gicquel was playing in his first Open.