LONDON – Roger Federer’s nearly perfect serving carried him back to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
He’ll try to continue his bid for a record eighth championship at the All England Club by beating his friend and countryman Stan Wawrinka on Wednesday.
Federer won all 54 service games through his first four matches in the tournament, saving eight break points.
That included saving the only break point he faced in a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 23 Tommy Robredo in the fourth round Tuesday. In the second set, Federer won all 20 points he served.
“Now I’m confident again and not fighting with any confidence issues, which is huge in sporting terms,” said Federer, who lost in the second round at Wimbledon a year ago. “I’m happy I got through the first rounds here rather comfortably.”
Here are five other things to look for at Wimbledon on Wednesday:
STAN THE MAN: Wawrinka has lost 13 of 15 career matches against Federer, but 14 of those encounters came before the player who wears T-shirts saying “Stan the Man” won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January. In their most recent matchup, in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters on clay in April, Wawrinka won. “It’s going to give me a lot of confidence about myself, knowing that I can beat him,” Wawrinka said. “Doesn’t matter where.” They’ve been pals for years and paired up to win a gold medal in doubles for Switzerland at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
PAST CHAMPS: Federer isn’t the only previous Wimbledon winner still around. Last year’s champion, Andy Murray, and the 2011 champion, Novak Djokovic, face far-less-accomplished opponents Wednesday. Murray takes on 11th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, who will be playing in his second career Grand Slam quarterfinal. Djokovic faces No. 26 Marin Cilic, who is in the Wimbledon quarters for the first time, although he did get to the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2010.
BRASH TEEN: Like any 19-year-old might do, Nick Kyrgios brought a video-game system on his trip to England. Here’s the difference: The 144th-ranked Kyrgios beat No. 1 Rafael Nadal on Tuesday to become the first man in 10 years to reach the quarterfinals in his Wimbledon debut. “Never did I think a week ago I was going to make the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in my first appearance,” Kyrgios said at his news conference, before addressing reporters directly: “I’m sure some of you have 19-year-old kids. I’m exactly the same.” Kyrgios plays No. 8 Milos Raonic, the first Canadian man in Wimbledon’s final eight in 102 years.
HALEP VS. LISICKI: No. 3 Simona Halep faces No. 19 Sabine Lisicki in one women’s quarterfinal. Both have been a Grand Slam runner-up: Halep lost to Maria Sharapova in the French Open final last month, while Lisicki lost to Marion Bartoli in the Wimbledon final last year. Lisicki had a far tougher go of it in the fourth round Tuesday, overcoming 20 double-faults and a painful right shoulder in a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Yaroslava Shvedova.
BOUCHARD VS. KERBER: Before the tournament, plenty of folks had their eyes on the potential quarterfinal between past champions Serena Williams and Sharapova. So much for that. Williams lost in the third round, Sharapova in the fourth. Instead, it will be No. 9 Angelique Kerber of Germany (the woman who beat Sharapova) against No. 13 Eugenie Bouchard of Canada (the woman who beat the woman who beat Williams).
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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich
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