Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick each launched their title bids in triumphant style at the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Sunday without losing a set in the second round.
Second seed Federer beat Russia's Igor Andreev 7-5, 7-6, third-seeded Serb Djokovic crushed Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev 6-0, 6-4 and eighth seed Roddick overpowered fellow American James Blake 6-3, 7-5 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
In the day's final match, fast-rising Canadian Milos Raonic shrugged off a back spasm to upset 13th-seeded American Mardy Fish 7-5, 6-4, his sixth win over a top-25 player this season.
Fan favourite Federer ended his match by clinching the second set tiebreak 7-4 when his opponent, on the stretch with his forehand, was unable to return a probing first serve.
"I played really well," 16-times Grand Slam champion Federer said courtside.
"I had a good 10 minutes where I was able to get up 7-5, 2-0.
"After (that), he found his way into the match and it really became competitive. I played a really good tiebreak, which obviously makes things better towards the end," he added.
It was Federer's fourth victory over Andreev in four meetings but the first time he had not lost a set to the hard-hitting Russian.
The Swiss master, who claimed a hat-trick of titles at Indian Wells from 2004, will next face Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela, who came from a set and a break down to beat Germany's Philipp Petzschner 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Australian Open champion Djokovic extended his perfect record this season to 13-0 after storming through the opening set in just 21 minutes and then holding off a brief fightback by Golubev early in the second.
"It was a great start to the tournament," the 23-year-old Serb said.
"I was in control most of the match. If you're on a run, you don't want to mess up, you don't want to stumble. You just want to keep on going and hold the momentum, so this is what I'm trying to do," he added.
GULBIS NEXT
Winner here in 2008 and runner-up the year before, the in-form Djokovic will next meet Latvia's Ernests Gulbis, who battled past Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun 6-7, 7-6, 6-1.
Roddick, who lost to Croat Ivan Ljubicic in last year's final, powered down 13 aces and won 94 per cent of his first serve points to seal victory in 90 minutes.
Although he trailed 0-3 in the second set, he broke Blake's erratic serve twice in the next eight games to regain control in dazzling afternoon sunshine.
"It was tough to get a gauge on how I was playing because James was playing so aggressively," Roddick said after dealing effectively with his US Davis Cup teammate's lethal forehand.
"He came out from the first game and I realised his strategy was... he didn't want to let me get into a rhythm. I felt like I was hitting the ball okay, so it worked out," he added.
The 28-year-old Roddick, who claimed his 30th ATP title in Memphis last month, improved his record this season to 15-2 and will take on compatriot John Isner in the third round.
Isner overpowered Brazil's Ricardo Mello 6-3, 7-6 in the first match of the day on the showpiece stadium court while seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych swept aside Poland's Lukasz Kubot 6-4, 6-1.
Baby-faced Raonic, who won his first ATP title at last month's San Jose Open, saved eight break points while converting both of his chances to beat Fish for a second time.
"I'm hungry for the wins," said the 20-year-old who has rocketed from 156th in the rankings at the start of this year to 37th.
"I want to reach new limits," he added.
In other second-round matches, 10th-seeded Austrian Juergen Melzer fought back to beat Frenchman Julien Benneteau 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 and 12th seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland also recovered the loss of the opening set to win 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 against Russian Nikolay Davydenko.
