Black day for Federer opponent 

Roger Federer took another step towards his quest for a fourth successive US Open title on Wednesday by routing qualifier Paul Capdeville of Chile 6-1 6-4 6-4 to ease into the third round at the National Tennis Center.

The world number one, looking to register a 12th grand slam title in his drive to eclipse the record 14 won by Pete Sampras, needed just 89 minutes to advance.

"I'm very happy the way I played. I think I hit the ball well," said the Swiss maestro, who crushed 45 winners and made only 11 unforced errors in the match.

"It was pretty much a controlled match," he told reporters. "It's nice to have it the first night session."

Federer wore all black - down to black shoes and black socks - but brightened the night at Arthur Ashe Stadium with his brilliant shot-making, ending the match by slashing a backhand crosscourt winner.

The 26-year-old Federer said he decided it would be fun to switch from his accustomed blue attire for the US Open and wear black.

"I thought it really looks cool. In New York you can do such a thing. Nowhere else in the world.

"For me I thought it was a cool mix with kind of the tuxedo look, all black. Why not? Especially at night."

Isner Next

Federer may have had fun with his wardrobe but was businesslike both on the court and before his match, making a point of checking on his next opponent - big-serving, 6ft 9in (2.057 m) John Isner.

American Isner, who helped University of Georgia win the US college championship, beat South African Rik De Voest in straight sets to advance.

"I saw maybe five games (of Isner's match) today before I went on," Federer said.

"I saw he had a good serve. He's got a good second serve, too. It's going to be interesting to see how I handle that because the trajectory of a big guy like this, it's always different."

Federer said he was not worried about sets boiling down to tiebreakers should Isner have his booming serve in order.

"It's going to be interesting to see how good he is from the baseline," he said.

The Swiss champion, who has a 19-6 tiebreak record this year, said he was confident in his tiebreaker approach.

"Play tough, calculate everything that happened throughout the set, knowing where his weakness is, where his strengths are, go with my strengths.

"Take the right decision at the right time. This is what I'm pretty good at."