Storming start for Tsonga in his title Chase.

Byline: David McCarthy 

FRENCHMAN Jo-Wilfried Tsonga might just be getting a phone call from Esther Rantzen tonight after an act of child cruelty against the youngest player in the men's singles yesterday.

The No.7 seed smashed 18-year-old American Chase Buchanan 6-0 6-2 6-1 in 78 minutes of torture for the kid who had been handed a wildcard into the event.

But Tsonga, who reached the Australian Open Final last year, was happy to get off the court quickly and conserve energy for tougher contests later in the tournament.

Tsonga, who now plays Finn Jarko Nieminen, believes he can go all the way at Flushing Meadows and on his day has the game to worry everyone in the draw.

He said: "I enjoyed that today. I ran around a lot and hit some good shots. I played well but didn't use a lot of energy.

"I am here to win the tournament. Of course I am and I believe I can do it. I'm in good shape and playing well, so why not?" However, home fans had a victory to cheer when Andy Roddick blasted his way into the second round in the early hours of yesterday.

Fifth seed Roddick, who lost to Roger Federer in the 30th game of the fifth set at theWimbledonFinalinJuly, eased past German Bjorn Phau 6-1 6-4 6-2. The match did not start until after 11pm local time on Monday night - as the players were held up by Venus Williams' long match against Vera Dushevina - and it finished at 12.45am.

But Roddick said: "This feels real great, the later the better."

Unseeded American Jesse Witten joined Roddick in the second round when he defeated Russian No.29 seed Igor Andreev 6-4 6-0 6-2. In the women's singles, No.6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova made short work of German Julia Goerges, the Russian winning 6-3 6-2, while Denmark's No.9 seed Caroline Wozniacki hammered Kazhakstan's Galina Voskoboeva 6-4 6-0.

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