Roddick battles back to reach third round

(CNN) -- Home favorite Andy Roddick recovered from a set and 5-3 down to beat promising Latvian Ernests Gulbis 3-6 7-5 6-2 7-5 to secure his place in the third round of the U.S. Open.

Eighth seed Roddick, who like his opponent is celebrating his birthday on Saturday, will now play 31st-seeded Italian Andreas Seppi in the last 32 after battling through in two hours, 52 minutes, in a match which finished in the early hours.

"He was definitely out-playing me for the first two sets," said Roddick, who won his only grand slam title at Flushing Meadows in 2003.

"I felt like a little kid out here playing against him. Then the clock struck 12 and I felt a lot better playing out here as a 26-year-old."

The hard-serving Gulbis, who is six years younger, matched Roddick serve-for-serve, hammering 19 aces to Roddick's 21. But he had nine double faults and made 56 unforced errors to let victory slip away.

"I was proud of the way I played," said Gulbis, who won the opening set in just 29 minutes and fired 79 winners throughout the match.

"It's my first appearance before such a big crowd. It's a really great experience to play on my birthday on this court in a night session against Andy Roddick."

Gulbis reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at this year's French Open at Roland Garros before losing to Serbian Novak Djokovic.

Meanwhile, Friday produced a rare day of domination for the seeded players with every one of the 14 seeds in action securing their place in the third round.

Second seed and four-time defending champion Roger Federer rolled to his 29th straight Flushing Meadows victory by breezing past Brazilian Thiago Alves 6-3 7-5 6-4

Federer, who is trying to salvage a season where he has yet to win a title on the hardcourts, has not lost a match in New York since 2003.

"This year was difficult because I couldn't really take tournaments off," Federer said. "I always had to chase the rhythm of playing on that particular surface that I was wanting to play on."

The 27-year-old Swiss superstar hammered 19 aces and won 80 per cent of his first serve points in the two hour, 14 minute match. "I served really well which is a big bonus," Federer said. "I am concentrating on my own game and physically I am fine."

Federer is seeking to become the only player to win five or more successive titles at two separate grand slams. He has had similar success at Wimbledon winning five in a row beginning in 2003.

This is the first time since the 2004 Australian Open that the Swiss has not been the top seed at a grand slam tournament.

Elsewhere, third seed Novak Djokovic saw off American Robert Kendrick 7-6 6-4 6-4, while fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko beat Argentine Agustin Calleri 6-4 6-4 7-6.

There were also victories for 11th seed Fernando Gonzalez, Fernando Verdasco (13) and Tommy Rodrebo (15) on Friday.