<p><br /> Roger Federer continued his serene progress at the US Open to remain on course for a showdown with the man who ended his amazing Grand Slam streak.<br /> </p><p><br /> Federer overcame strong winds to beat France's Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 39 minutes and is yet to drop a set in three matches at Flushing Meadows.<br /> </p><p><br /> The five-time champion is looking to reach his seventh straight final in New York and regain the title after losing to Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro 12 months ago.<br /> </p><p><br /> But he looks set to face Sweden's Robin Soderling in the quarter-finals, the player he lost to at the same stage of the French Open this year to end his streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semi-final appearances.<br /> </p><p><br /> Speaking about his win over Mathieu, Federer said: "I thought the first set was the key. He has some serious talent. We came through the juniors together and he used to toy around with me.<br /> </p><p><br /> "I got a bit lucky in the first set, he had the first break point at 4-3 and after that I was able to break him back and maybe break his will a bit."<br /> </p><p><br /> Soderling needed five sets to edge past Austrian qualifier Andreas Haider-Maurer in the first round, but has since dropped just 16 games, the fifth seed beating Thiemo De Bakker 6-2 6-3 6-3 in just an hour and 42 minutes.<br /> </p><p><br /> Third seed Novak Djokovic is also through after knocking out American James Blake 6-1 7-6 6-3.<br /> </p>
