New York: Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki beat 103rd-ranked Vania King 6-2, 6-4 at the US Open on Saturday to reach the fourth round, while Janko Tipsarevic made it to the same stage when ninth-seeded Tomas Berdych retired in the second set.
Wozniacki, the runner-up here in 2009, has just lost a total of 12 games over her first three matches.
"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 has been ranked No. 1 for the better part of a year but is still in search of her first major.
She 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.
In early men's play, No. 20 Tipsarevic was leading No. 9 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 US 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.
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