E-Paper
Federer downs Ferrero to reach quarter-finals
Roger Federer clinched his 32nd grasscourt win in a row with a fourth round win over Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero on Monday.
Roger Federer clinched his 32nd grasscourt win in a row and moved a step closer to a third successive Wimbledon title with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) fourth round win over Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero on Monday.
The victory gave the top seed a quarter-final match-up with big hitting Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, a player the world number one has beaten in all of their four career meetings.
Federer's last defeat on a grass court came on Centre Court in 2002 when he was beaten in the first round by Mario Ancic.
Ferrero stuck to his task, tried to keep Federer on the run but came up short when it mattered most in a tie which featured long gruelling rallies and dogged defence from the Spanish 23rd seed.
The 23-year-old Swiss ace grabbed the vital break in the fourth game of the first set when Ferrero hit a forehand long and then fought off a break point in the ninth game before serving out the set in just 30 minutes.
Federer, hitting winners from all parts of the court, then broke Ferrero in the fifth game of the second set for a crucial 3-2 lead.
The 25-year-old Spaniard saved two set points in the tenth game but he was powerless to avoid slipping to a two-set deficit when he pushed a return long after 72 minutes of action.
Former French Open winner Ferrero had a rare break point in the eighth game of the third set which Federer saved with an ace and he was made to pay.
He put in a sloppy service game in the 11th game and was broken after another gruelling rally which culminated in a winning deep, backhand crosscourter by Federer.
He saved a match point with a service winner but was unable to keep out the second when Federer fired down a serve which Ferrero could only fend into the crowd.
