Wozniacki wins easily again at U.S. Open

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki rolled through her third straight match at the U.S. Open, avoiding an upset bug that has turned big sections of the women’s bracket into a free-for-all.

Wozniacki, the runner-up here in 2009, defeated American Vania King 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday and has lost a total of 12 games over her first three matches. She won this one in blustery conditions at Arthur Ashe Stadium that made serving difficult.

“The wind, it was going everywhere,” she said. “You had to keep the margin over the net and away from the lines.”

That’s Wozniacki’s game, though, and it has served her well. Though she is still in search of her first major, she has been ranked No. 1 for most of the last year.

“To be honest, I felt like I was playing with her,” King said. “But she isn’t No. 1 without a good reason. She is used to winning. She has that confidence.”

Wozniacki and Serena Williams are the favorites in a tournament that has lost a number of prime contenders.

Already, French Open champion Li Na and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova have been knocked out. Venus Williams withdrew after revealing she’d been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Defending champion Kim Clijsters never entered because of an injury. On Friday, third-seeded Maria Sharapova lost a three-set match to Flavia Pennetta.

Serena Williams, the No. 28 seed, had a match against No. 4 Victoria Azarenka set for later Saturday in Arthur Ashe Stadium. In other women’s matches, No. 7 Francesca Schiavone beat Chanelle Scheepers 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in a match that lasted 2 hours, 57 minutes. Schiavone’s next opponent will be No. 17 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over No. 11 Jelena Jankovic.

Third-seeded Roger Federer and No. 1 Novak Djokovic also were in action Saturday.

In early men’s play, No. 20 Janko Tipsarevic was leading No. 9 Tomas Berdych 6-4, 5-0 when Berdych quit with a shoulder injury — something that started bothering him last month at a tuneup in Cincinnati.

“There was no other reason to stay and doing something else, something more, because I already had these problems in Cincinnati,” Berdych said.

Tipsarevic’s opponent in the fourth round will be 2003 French Open champion and U.S. Open runner-up Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was leading 6-1, 4-3 when No. 31 Marcel Granollers retired.

The Spaniard was the 14th player to quit in the middle of a match over the first week of the tournament, the most for any Grand Slam tournament in the Open era. The previous record was 12 at Wimbledon in 2008, according to the International Tennis Federation.

Ferrero could use the break. The Spaniard, ranked No. 1 in the world in 2003, played two five-set matches to get to the third round.