Jolly Roger safely through
Federer has not had a five-set match at Wimbledon since winning his first title in 2003
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Friday, 29, Jun 2007 09:31
Defending champion Roger Federer is through to the fourth round of Wimbledon after seeing off Marat Safin 6-1 6-4 7-6 (7-4).
The Swiss ace extended his winning streak at SW19 to 31 matches after beating the Russian in one hour and 39 minutes.
Federer will face Germany's Tommy Haas in the next round in his bid to win his fifth straight Wimbledon crown.
The world number one made an explosive start with breaks in the fourth and sixth game to win the opening set in just 19 minutes.
Some uncharacteristic wayward shots from Federer saw him broken at the start of the second set but he immediately broke back.
Federer broke again in game seven after a lucky bounce which sent Safin scrambling across the baseline in vain. The 25-year-old then fired an ace to clinch the second set.
Following a trademark outburst after another wayward shot, Safin showed the form which has seen him win two grand slams.
The Russian held his serve to force the tie-break with a host of crisp backhands. But a weak volley led to Federer being handed the advantage with the defending champion sealing his 51st straight win on grass.
Federer said he knew the dangers of facing Safin having lost to him in a memorable semi-final in the 2005 Australia Open.
"I don't know if I played phenomenal. I just played the right way. I kept the ball in play, served well when I had to and neutralised him from the baseline, Federer said.
"I expected him to serve well in one of the three sets and he did in the third but by then it was too late and obviously I played a great tiebreak."