Impressive showings by Rafa and the roof

Rafael Nadal glided into the third round of the US Open on Wednesday as smoothly as the new roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium slid shut for the first time during a match.

Two-time champion Nadal, seeded fourth, defeated Italy's Andreas Seppi 6-0, 7-5, 6-1 to book a meeting with Russian Andrey Kuznetsov for a place in the round of 16.

The new $150 million roof was called into action for the first time when light rain began falling during the second set.