Federer dominant
WIMBLEDON, England — If Roger Federer is playing this well now, just imagine how good he'll be by the end of Wimbledon.
Even Federer acknowledges he's never been in such dominant form so early in the championships, a scary thought for any player planning to stop him from winning his fourth straight title on the All England Club grass.
"I've had a different kind of draw, where people are expecting me to struggle more," the top-ranked Swiss star said. "That I came through that convincing obviously gives me a lot of confidence. Sends out maybe a little bit of a message for the other players."
Federer looked untouchable Tuesday as he routed four-time semifinalist Tim Henman 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 on Centre Court to reach the third round, extending his grass-court winning streak to 43 matches. He dropped only seven games in his previous match against Richard Gasquet, who was coming off a grass-court tournament win in Nottingham.
"In beating two such great players so convincingly, I think it definitely gives you the feeling that you're playing very well," Federer said. "I have the feeling I'm playing excellent. And that is for me good to know. I don't need to fight for rhythm or fight for this is or that. It's all here already."
Federer considers Andy Roddick, the player he beat in the last two finals, and 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt as his most realistic challengers.
While Federer had Thursday off, Roddick, Hewitt, 1992 champion Andre Agassi and second-seeded Rafael Nadal were all scheduled to play second-round matches. On the women's side, three-time champion Venus Williams, top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo and 2004 champion Maria Sharapova were also scheduled to play.
Federer showed no mercy against Henman, one of his closest friends on the ATP Tour.
"It's not a lot of fun beating a friend like this, that's for sure," he said.
Federer strolled to victory after saving two break points — the only ones he faced in the match — at 4-3 in the first set. He won 11 straight games from the end of the first set through 4-0 in the third. He lost only five points in the second set, broke Henman six times and had 28 winners and only eight unforced errors.
"He's such a good front-runner," Henman said. "He gets better and better and makes life more and more difficult."
Henman, unseeded this year because of a drop in his ranking, was no match for Federer in a big letdown for the British fans still hoping for a first homegrown men's champion since Fred Perry in 1936.
