Former champion Roddick strolls into fourth round

By Steve Ginsburg

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former champion Andy Roddick continued his quiet march through the U.S. Open draw with a 6-3 6-2 6-0 third-round victory over Sweden's Thomas Johansson on Saturday.

With much of the attention focused on triple champion Roger Federer and his chief rival, Rafael Nadal, Roddick has rolled through his first three matches losing just one set.

Roddick, the 2003 champion, blasted 19 aces and had 41 winners in the 84-minute match inn Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"It felt good," Roddick told reporters. "I wanted to go out and hit the ball and be aggressive, get hold of my forehand, if I could. I felt like I did that today."

The victory sets up a fourth-round match against ninth-seeded Tomas Berdych.

"We play kind of similar," said Roddick, who has a 1-1 record against the Czech. "We both serve big and hit a pretty big ball from the baseline.

"If that's the case, it's going to come down to a couple points here and there, who converts their chances on the other guy's serve."

Despite swirling winds, Roddick had no trouble with his serve against Johansson, landing 68 percent of his first attempts. He also had just 11 unforced errors.