Federer comes through first test
WIMBLEDON
Date: 22 June - 5 July
Federer sees off Kohlschreiber
| By Piers Newbery |
Roger Federer remains the man to beat at Wimbledon after surviving his first serious test against 27th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round.
Federer, going for a sixth Wimbledon title, withstood a fightback from the German to win 6-3 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-1.
The threat of rain seemed the only way he might be derailed early on but there proved no need to give the Centre Court roof its debut in a competitive match.
Federer lost his rhythm in the latter stages but won in two hours 31 minutes.
Next up will be Robin Soderling, who beat Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 6-4 to set up a repeat of the French Open final, which the Swiss won.
Federer is trying to win a record 15th Grand Slam title, and the absence of world number one and defending champion Rafael Nadal through injury means he is the favourite to do so.
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On the back of finally landing a first French Open title earlier this month and so completing the set of Grand Slams, he looked completely untroubled in his first two matches at the All England Club.
And taking on Kohlschreiber was certainly not a daunting prospect for Federer, who went into the match with a 3-0 record against the German including two wins on grass in Halle.
It was no surprise when the world number two raced into an early lead but from 4-0, 40-15, the Swiss had a lapse of concentration.
Kohlschreiber recovered to get one break back, held serve and then moved to 0-30 at 4-2 down.
For Federer at Wimbledon this year it constituted a mini crisis, and he quickly regained his focus and served his way out of trouble before easing through the rest of the set.
A stunning drop volley on the stretch helped the 27-year-old break at the start of the second and by now Kohlschreiber was struggling to win points, let alone games.
Federer broke again before wrapping up the set after just 68 minutes with a sublime lob followed by two aces, and a couple of forehand winners had him a break up at the start of the third.
That appeared to be the beginning of the end for Kohlschreiber, but a few more unforced errors from Federer and the occasional blistering winner from the German made the third set a tight affair.
Kohlschreiber saw a couple of break points go begging in game four as he failed to make effective returns at the key times but made no mistake when the chance came again, levelling at 4-4 thanks in part to a net cord.
It was the German who now had the edge, moving 4-1 clear in the ensuing tie-break and soon earning two set points, the second of which he took with a rasping cross-court backhand.
Any hopes Kohlschreiber had of turning the screw receded when he double-faulted to again drop serve at the start of the fourth set but Federer was now struggling for consistency, and had to save a break-back point in the following game.
The Swiss got the security of a second break with a huge forehand pass on the run in game six but had to stave off another two break points when he served for the match, finally sealing it with a forehand winner.
