America’s No. 1 tennis player, Andy Roddick, sent Frenchman Stephane Robert packing this afternoon. It took 9^th-seeded Roddick only 1 hour and 42 minutes to finish the straight-sets win at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The final score was 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

The stats look promising for Roddick as he advances into a tricky quarter of the draw. The American put 92% of his returns into play, a historically difficult task. As for winners, Roddick piled them up, 30 to 21, including eight service aces.

This is all good news for the American, who has had a lackluster summer season. “I feel,” said Roddick about the state of his game, “80% better than I did five, six weeks ago, that's for sure. It's going the right way. It's not perfect, but it's fine.”

As far as preparation is concerned, Roddick said he’s given 100 percent. “I was out here hitting every day,” he said. “I took a couple days off after Cincinnati, because that was a lot more than I was advised to play at that point. I was supposed to play an hour a day for that week, and I failed at that.” Roddick smiled, then went on to say, “I took it easy a couple days when I got here, but I have definitely gotten plenty of time in on the stadium. Everything should be fine.”

With his opening match out of the way, Roddick will have a day off before facing Serbian Janko Tipsarevic in the next round.

Last update: 11:15 p.m.