Federer cruises past Hewitt
WIMBLEDON, England — Roger Federer already has dispatched the last player to win Wimbledon before he started his five-year winning run. Next up is the last player to beat him here.
Federer has cruised into the quarterfinals without dropping a set, beating 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round Monday 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-4 for his 63rd consecutive win on grass and 38th in a row at the All England Club.
"I'm just happy the way I'm playing," he said. "No real problems so far."
Federer's next opponent Wednesday will be Mario Ancic, who came from two sets down to overcome Fernando Verdasco in a five-set marathon, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 13-11.
Federer lost to the 6-foot-5 Croatian in straight sets in the first round of Wimbledon in 2002.
But that was before Federer became the dominant force who has won 12 Grand Slam titles and is now bidding to become only the second player in history to win six straight Wimbledon championships.
"He was not Roger Federer at that time," Ancic said. "I can sit here and talk stories about how I beat Roger Federer, but actually it wasn't Roger Federer as we know him today.
"It was the up-and-coming top-10 player who was at the moment struggling in Grand Slams. Today he's a completely different player."
Federer remembers it well.
"I completely underestimated him back in 2002 when I played him," he said. "I thought, 'I'll play a little bit of serve and volley.' I expected him to stay back and it was the opposite. I got completely surprised. I was a little shellshocked and didn't know what happened to me."
"What it taught me," Federer said, "was not to underestimate any opponent, no matter where they're from, what technique they have, what ranking they have."
Since then, Federer has won all five of his matches against Ancic and dropped just one set. He won 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the 2006 Wimbledon quarterfinals and beat Ancic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the third round at this year's French Open.
As for the prospect of playing again on Centre Court, Ancic said, "It is for me like a footballer to play at Wembley. It's Yankee Stadium for baseball, Madison Square Garden for basketball. It's almost like a holy place."
The men have a day off Today, giving way to the women's quarterfinals as the Williams sisters move closer to another sibling championship matchup.
Defending champion Venus Williams, a four-time winner, was due on Court 1 against Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand. Two-time champ Serena was scheduled on Centre Court against 19-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.
The other matchups are No. 5 Elena Dementieva vs. Nadia Petrova, and No. 18 Nicole Vaidisova vs. China's Zheng Jie.
Dementieva was the highest seeded player left in the women's draw after Monday's upsets of No. 2 Jelena Jankovic (by Tanasugarn) and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova (by Radwanska).
With top-seeded Ana Ivanovic and No. 3 Maria Sharapova eliminated last week, none of the top four seeded women reached the quarterfinals — the first time that's happened at Wimbledon and also the first time at any Grand Slam tournament in the 40-year history of the Open era.
Federer, meanwhile, remains on course for a third straight Wimbledon final against No. 2 Rafal Nadal, who overcame an injury scare and beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
The Spaniard slipped on the worn turf behind the baseline on Court 1 while stretching to hit a forehand in the second game, with his right leg bending awkwardly. He took a medical timeout, and a trainer wrapped his leg below the knee. Nadal showed no sign of trouble and dominated the rest of the way.
"I felt a little bit of pain," the four-time French Open champion said. "I was a little bit scared. I felt something crack a little behind (the knee). But I think it's fine."
