Tennis: Top seed Roger Federer had few problems reaching the third round of the French Open today. The world number one dismissed the challenge of Alejandro Falla with ease.
Federer won 6-1 6-4 6-3, holding his serve throughout and cracking 41 winners past his bewildered opponent who managed just 13.
Federer, who is bidding to complete a full set of Grand Slam titles, said: "I would like to win here and the pressure is quite big but I enjoy the challenge.
"I don't put too much pressure on myself. You always try to think of the next match and try to be in the best shape.
"I was always in control today. I could play very freely. It was a nice feeling to have. I'm just pleased I'm through."
Sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko also hardly had to break sweat to progress. The Russian went through to the next round when opponent Flavio Saretta retired due to illness.
Davydenko, the sixth seed, was leading 6-2 4-1 when his Brazilian foe, suffering from a cold, decided to call it a day on what was a wet and chilly day at Roland Garros.
Things were such tougher for 13th seed Nicolas Kiefer who did things the hard way in a remarkable match against Marc Gicquel.
The German raced into a two-set lead but having looked on the brink of victory had to dig extremely deep to record an epic 6-0 6-1 5-7 3-6 11-9 win.
In the women's draw, Amelie Mauresmo booked her place in the last 32. The world number one and top seed beat Vera Dushevina 6-1 7-6 (7/5).
Fourth seed Maria Sharapova also progressed, beating Iveta Benesova, 6-4 6-1.
But there were seeded casualties. First, 22nd seed Ai Sugiyama was beaten 4-6 6-4 6-3 by French qualifier Aravane Rezai.
And Sugiyama was followed through the exit door by Marion Bartoli (25) and Anna Chakvetadze (27). They were beaten by Jelena Jankovic and Na Li respectively. Agencies