Roger that! Federer stays on track at Wimbledon

Reuters: As the green tarpaulin covers were pulled back from Wimbledon’s grass courts on Monday morning, and straw-hatted stewards prepared to police the snaking queues, a growing number of informed observers were contemplating a July 4 fairytale.

Burly Californian Steve Johnson is the real deal, they said. Roger Federer is there for the taking; he’s “undercooked”, past his best. Johnson, on the other hand, has won eight straight grasscourt games, including his first title, in Nottingham.

This had all the makings of an Independence Day upset at the All England Club.

Oh, how soon we dismiss our champions.

Federer, a player so great and so rare he rewrites history books one way or another most times he steps on court these days, clearly pays no heed.

On a blustery Centre Court he conceded 10 games in dispatching the danger man 6-2 6-3 7-5 to reach his 14th Wimbledon quarter-final – a professional era record he now shares with Jimmy Connors.

Whatever some experts say, a clinical straight sets victory kept Federer on track to become the only man to win eight Wimbledon singles crowns.

So while Andy Murray-supporting Brits have been rubbing their hands with glee following Novak Djokovic’s shock third-round defeat, the biggest beneficiary of the Serb’s removal may be Federer, who is yet to lose a set at Wimbledon this year.

“I hope I can win Wimbledon one more time,” Federer told reporters, a quizzical smile on his face, amused that anyone might for a nano-second think otherwise.

No washed-up champ

For sure there remains a little rust on the Swiss maestro’s forehand – more than a few were rifled long on Monday – but there can be few things on any sporting stage more elegant than the sight of Federer stretching high and sweeping a backhand down over the net, his wrist rolling to send the ball spinning and biting into the Wimbledon turf.

If pushed, I dare say Johnson would agree, once he absorbs the defeat, as fundamentally one-sided as the others Federer meted out in week one here.

Johnson should not take the result to heart, for Centre Court at Wimbledon is no Nottingham.

And Federer is no washed up champion.

True, this is the first time in 16 years that he arrives at Wimbledon without a title to his name so far this year. In this respect alone, Johnson had the edge over him.

But in every other regard this was a mismatch which would not have been permitted in a more physical sport.

“I’m happy about my game... I’ve been able to rise to the occasion and play a really good match,” 34-year-old Federer said.

Next up is ninth seed Marin Cilic, the Croatian who memorably dismantled Federer on his way to the 2014 U.S. Open crown - to date his sole grand slam title.

Again, there seem to be no shortage of pundits ready to predict the end of the road for third-seeded Federer.

“I’m looking forward to a tough one here,” he simply smiles. “Right now I am enjoying everything about Wimbledon.”

Not quite everything.

While other players have visited West End shows, concerts and the nightlife London offers, Federer has been following the Euro 2016 soccer tournament, playing with his kids and, unsurprisingly, watching tennis.

“My friends, my family, everybody around me did all the Beyonce, Matilda, all the stuff I wanted to do... But right now I have other goals than doing that stuff.”

Venus strides into quarter-finals despite early scare

Reuters: The grande dame of women’s tennis, Venus Williams, strode to victory against a scampering Carla Suarez Navarro on Monday, beating the Spaniard 7-6(3) 6-4 to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Williams, with five Wimbledon crowns to her name, used her 20 years of experience on the tour to overcome early sluggishness, a rain break and a busy opponent.

Williams, the oldest woman in the draw at 36, looked out-of-of-sorts when she arrived on Court One and lost the first three games of the contest.

She pulled back to a tiebreak but had to run off court for half an hour because of a rain shower – a feature of this year’s tournament.

“I thought: Oh no not again,” eighth seed Williams said. “It was hard... I was dismayed. I just tried to stay focused and she gave me a few points and that saw me through.” Williams’s nine inch (23 cm) height advantage was also a bonus for the American and she used her big serve, stride and reach to counter Suarez Navarro’s speed and whipping top-spin groundstrokes.

The 12th-seeded Spaniard had to go for her shots and they did not come off too often. She put a forehand long to hand Williams the first set.

Slick Murray downs Kyrgios as title expectations grow

Reuters: Andy Murray saw off the mercurial challenge of Australian Nick Kyrgios with little fuss on Monday, before just as smoothly playing down growing expectations that a second Wimbledon title is his for the taking.

The second-seeded Scot’s straight sets win over a dangerous opponent maintained his standing, following the shock third round exit of world number one Novak Djokovic, as the bookies’ odds-on favourite to lift the Challenge Cup again on Sunday.

Murray, who in 2013 beat Djokovic to became the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936, has finished runner-up to the Serbian in both of this year’s grand slams in France and Australia.

On Monday he reached his ninth consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final, hanging on to Kyrgios’s coat-tails for much of a pulsating first set before the Australian lost focus to concede the second and third sets tamely in a 7-5 6-1 6-4 defeat.

Murray has not yet dropped a set – but neither has Roger Federer, who beat the Scot in last year’s semi-final.

The presence of the Swiss seven-times champion looms large on the other side of the draw, which goes a long way towards explaining why the thought of lifting the trophy again has yet to enter Murray’s head.

Passing the test

Describing Monday’s win as “very good”, the Briton said his only focus was on his next match, a quarter-final against French 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

“I know the next one is a very tough match against Tsonga. He’s a really, really good grass court player, very, very dangerous,” Murray told reporters. “I’m aware I’ll have to be playing at my highest level to win.”

For much of Monday’s first set on a packed Centre Court, Murray played second fiddle to 15th seed Kyrgios, who thudded down serves at close to 140 mph that the world number two struggled to reach let alone control.

Murray’s serve, meanwhile, was misfiring and, under darkening skies and roared on by a partisan crowd, he had to dig deep to stay on terms with the Australian.

The set and the match turned in the 12th game, when a combination of Kyrgios errors and two inspired Murray backhands presented the Scot with three break points. Kyrgios saved the first two with booming serves but Murray converted the third.

Thereafter Kyrgios went walkabout, the Briton breaking him twice in a second set that flew by in 26 minutes. He broke once more in the third, closing out the contest with an ace on his third match point.

The Australian, who described his performance after the first set as “pretty pathetic”, has now -- in common with a multitude of Britons -- hitched his wagon to the Murray camp.

“I hope (Murray wins)... I hope so, definitely. I think he’s definitely got a great chance,” Kyrgios told reporters.