World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the third round of the US Open without swinging his racket Wednesday when scheduled opponent Jiri Vesely pulled out injured. Serbia's Djokovic won by walkover when left forearm inflammation prompted Czech Vesely — who inflicted a rare defeat on Djokovic on the claycourts at Monte Carlo in April — to withdraw prior to the afternoon second round clash scheduled for the Arthur Ashe stadium court. Djokovic will face either Guido Pella of Argentina or Mikhail Youzhny of Russia for a place in the fourth round. Roberta Vinci, the 2015 runner-up, and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova also booked third round spots. Seventh seeded Italian Vinci, defeated by compatriot Flavia Pennetta in last year's final, eased past Christina McHale of the United States 6-1, 6-3. The 33-year-old, playing at Flushing Meadows for the 14th time, goes on to face either Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan or Germany's Carina Witthoeft. Kvitova, the 14th seeded Czech who recorded her best performance in New York 12 months ago when she made the last-eight, beat Turkey's Cagla Buyukakcay 7-6 (7-2), 6-3. Kvitova was in her trademark all-or-nothing mood, mixing up 31 winners with 30 unforced errors against her 26-year-old opponent who was the first Turkish woman to play in the main draw at the tournament. Up next for Kvitova is Ukrainian 22nd seed Elina Svitolina who put out Lauren Davis of the United States 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. On Tuesday, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and Serena Williams powered into the second round. Serena, launching her latest bid to rewrite the record books, started strong and didn't let up in 6-3, 6-3 victory over 29th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova. The US world No. 1 appeared untroubled by the balky right shoulder that has hindered her in recent weeks, delivering a dozen aces and 27 winners overall in the 63-minute contest. "I knew today I needed to be focused because I've played her. She's gotten to the semifinals. She goes deep in majors," Serena said of the Russian left-hander who beat her in the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open. A victory would see her break the Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles she now shares with German Steffi Graf and close in on Margaret Court's all-time mark of 24 major titles. While Serena has struggled since Wimbledon, Murray went from claiming a second title at the All England club to a successful defense of his Olympic gold in Rio. Vying to become the fourth man in the Open Era to reach all four major finals in a calendar year, Murray, too, produced a dominant service performance in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Czech Lukas Rosol. Before the floodlights came up, Serena's elder sister Venus claimed a Grand Slam record of her own as her 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Ukraine's Kateryna Kozlova marked her 72nd appearance in the main draw of a major. The 36-year-old Venus, enjoying a resurgence in a 2016 season that includes a WTA title in Taiwan, survived 63 unforced errors against the rising 22-year-old, although she was pleased that her aggressive approach also yielded 46 winners. Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, trying to make it to the quarterfinals in New York for the first time, breezed past US qualifier Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-1. Men's third seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, a two-time semifinalist, reached the second round with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-4 win over Spain's Fernando Verdasco. Eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria needed five sets to secure his second-round spot, downing Australia's John Millman 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion whose career was nearly ended by three wrist surgeries, advanced with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) victory over fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman. There was a little record-setting on the men's side as well, with Croatian Ivo Karlovic belting a US Open record of 61 aces in a 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 win over Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun. Janko Tipsarevic beat the 29th-seeded Querrey 7-6 (4), 6-7 (0), 6-3, 6-3 for his first victory at any major since the 2013 US Open. He played a few more tournaments that season — then didn't return to competition for more than two years. Another American, 19th-seeded Steve Johnson, is up next for del Potro. Johnson was down two sets and a break to 79th-ranked Evgeny Donskoy Tuesday and saved six match points in the third before winning 4-6, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-3 in 3 hours, 13 minutes. Eugenie Bouchard slumped to a first-round defeat (6-3, 3-6, 6-2) to 20-year-old Czech Katerina Siniakova, who registered a first ever win at the US Open. — Agencies
