Roger Federer snuffed out the challenge of the last man to beat him on grass with a 6-1 7-5 6-4 victory over Mario Ancic in the Wimbledon quarter-finals yesterday.
World number one Federer, in devastating form from the start, allowed Ancic only one point in his first four service games as he ran away with the opening set.
Ancic improved after a rain delay lasting two hours and 13 minutes with the score 1-1 in the second set, playing a full part in some high quality rallies.
Games went with serve until the 11th when the 1.95-metre tall Croat netted a volley to give his opponent the break point.
Federer was in full flow in the third set and won the match in one hour and 41 minutes on his first match point, going into a semi-final against Russia’s Marat Safin who beat Feliciano Lopez of Spain 3-6 7-5 7-6 (1) 6-3 in another quarter-final encounter.
Safin looked in danger of imploding when he was given a warning for ball abuse and dropped the first set, but he kept his cool to brush aside the Spanish 31st seed. And three years after beating Federer en route to winning the Australian Open, Safin is back within touching distance of a major final.
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