Roddick to take final bow

Ahead of his second round match against Tomic,says US Open will be his last as a pro; Federer leads tributes

Andy Roddick stunned the tennis world by announcing that the US Open would be his last tournament on Thursday but there was no sign of the end of the road for his contemporaries Roger Federer and Serena Williams on day four at Flushing Meadows.

Federer led the tributes for Roddick after defeating Bjorn Phau with an evening exhibition to reach the third round of the mens draw,while Serena added her own plaudits after remaining on course for a fourth US Open crown with a victory over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Roddicks announcement of his impending retirement came shortly after Frances fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga produced his worst match of the year to be the first big-name casualty of the mens draw.

The former world number one and US Open champion said he realised during his first-round victory over Rhyne Williams that he had lost the desire to remain on tour. I just feel like its time, Roddick,who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday,said.

Ive always wanted to,in a perfect world,finish at this event. I have a lot of family and friends here. I thought all year I would know when I got to this tournament. When I was playing my first round,I knew. Playing here,I dont know what it was. I couldnt imagine myself being there another year. Roddick will play Australian Bernard Tomic on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night in what is now sure to be a highly-charged atmosphere.

Federers tribute

Top seed Federer absolutely dominated German Phau to win 6-2 6-3 6-2 in the opening match of Thursdays night session before paying tribute to Roddick,who he defeated in three Wimbledon finals. A great champion and a great guy, Federer told the crowd. I hope you guys make it hard for Tomic tomorrow night. Im going to be watching. Federers third-round match is against No. 25 Fernando Verdasco.

In the womens draw,Serena,though not at her best,was an easy 6-2 6-4 winner over Martinez Sanchez but second-seeded Angieszka Radwanska struggled before peeling off 11 straight games in a 4-6 6-3 6-0 defeat of Carla Suarez Navarro.

Tsonga,Venus out

While Serena advanced,her sister Venus lost 6-2 5-7 7-5 to Germanys sixth seed Angelique Kerber in a tense battle under the lights. Venus,twice a champion at Flushing Meadows,blasted 43 winners but committed un 60 errors in the two-hour,45-minute loss to the southpaw Kerber,a semi-finalist here a year ago.

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Teenager Sloane Stephens again lived up to the hype with a 5-7 6-4 6-2 win over Tatjana Malek and there was more American success when 32-year-old mens wildcard James Blake wound back the clock to beat 24th seed Marcel Granollers 6-1 6-4 6-2. Tsonga was wildly erratic in his 6-4 1-6 6-1 6-3 loss to 52nd-ranked Martin Klizan of Slovakia in Louis Armstrong Stadium. It seemed like I couldnt hit the ball hard enough to put my opponent out of position, said Tsonga. t. Thats it.

Robson upsets Li Na

ninth seed Li Na suffered the same fate as Kim Clijsters as she was dumped out on Friday by British teenager Laura Robson. The former French Open champion was outplayed by the 18-year-old,going down 6-4 6-7 6-2 in the third round. Fourth seed David Ferrer cruised into the third round with a 6-2 6-3 7-6 victory over Dutch qualifier Igor Sijsling. World number 78 Sijsling saved five match points but Ferrer won the tiebreak 14-12 to set up a match with former champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia or Gilles Muller of Luxembourg.

Paes-Stepanek win

Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek beat the Brazilian pairing of Thomas Belluci and Joao Souza 7-6 7-6 in the second round. Though the Indo-Czech pair did not hit any winners,they did not have any unforced errors either. Out of eight oppurtunities,Paes-Stepanek could break their opponents just twice.