Novak triumphs in gruelling clash
Novak Djokovic kept alive his hopes of ending Roger Federer's dominance at the US Open in New York as the third-seeded Serb edged past Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.
In an epic four-hour, 44-minute battle of nerves, the man who beat both Rafael Nadal and Federer en route to winning the ATP Masters Series in Montreal three weeks ago needed a fifth-set tie-break to finally put daylight between himself and the world number 35.
Djokovic won 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-2), sinking to his knees after beating his adversary with a deft half-volley at the end of a tense final rally.
The third seed will now face Juan Martin del Potro in round three, following the rising Argentinian player's straight-sets defeat of number 31 Jurgen Melzer of Austria, 6-3 6-1 6-4.
Number eight Tommy Robredo of Spain had a tough time with American Mardy Fish, last week's Pilot Pen Championship runner-up.
Fish had the crowd on his side at Ashe and was 4-1 and 30-15 up in the fifth set before suddenly capitulating and losing 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 6-4.
Ivan Ljubicic had no such problems with his unseeded opponent as he booked a place in the third round with a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (8-6) win over Romania's Andrei Pavel. The 12th-seeded Croatian now plays Juan Ignacio Chela, a 6-3 6-1 7-5 winner over American Wayne Odesnik, for a place in the round of 16.
