Blake eases past Kuznetsov

MELBOURNE, Jan 18 (Reuters) Fifth seed James Blake continued his imperious run of form by casting aside fellow American Alex Kuznetsov 6-4 6-1 6-2 in the Australian Open second round today.

Blake, the winner of last week's Sydney International, used terrific court coverage and pinpoint accuracy to nullify the 19-year-old world number 216 on Rod Laver Arena in an hour and 21 minutes.

Kuznetsov threatened a tougher match when he broke Blake's opening service game, but the 27-year-old's experience shone through as he dismissed his Ukrainian-born opponent.

Blake crushed former world number one Carlos Moya in his opening-round match and next meets either Robby Ginepri of the US or German qualifier Mischa Zverev.

Reuters PM GC09012