Federer routs Ancic to march into semis
Defending champion Roger Federer continued his serene progress towards a sixth successive Wimbledon title with a quarterfinal stroll against Mario Ancic.
Croatia’s Ancic, the last player to beat Federer on grass, in 2002, failed to earn a single break point as the world No1 cruised into the last four, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.
It was another majestic performance to remind Federer’s critics that he is far from on the wane, and had the Swiss top seed talking confidently about another title.
“I’m playing great, serving excellent,” said Federer, who will face Marat Safin tomorrow. “It’s a long way to get to the semis. But I know how to win two more. I’ve done it before so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Federer, yet to drop a set in his five matches, needed just 20 minutes to wrap up the opener, before rain hit at 1-1 in the second.
Ancic put up a better fight after the interval but could not save the second set, and the third looked set to be a marathon after an opening game that lasted 16 minutes.
But it proved a false dawn as Federer broke Ancic for 3-2, and served out to clinch a last-four match against former world No1 Safin.
The unseeded Russian, whose ranking has slumped since a spate of injuries, continued his renaissance with a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-3 victory over 31st seed Feliciano Lopez.
After a nervous start, Safin swept past Lopez to set up a rematch with the man he beat in his last Grand Slam semi-final, in 2005. “I want to believe I’m back,” said Safin. “No matter what I do against Roger it’s been a great two weeks.”