Wimbledon (United Kingdom) (AFP)
Roger Federer (8th) qualified Saturday for the 18th time in his career for the round of 16 at Wimbledon, beating Briton Cameron Norrie (34th) 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
The Swiss, who will be 40 in July, will face Italian Lorenzo Sonego (27th) on Monday for a place in the quarterfinals.
Very roughed up in the first round, where he benefited from the abandonment of Adrian Mannarino at the start of the fifth set, he was more convincing in the second round, where he had beaten Richard Gasquet in three sets despite a complicated first round.
And on Saturday, he was still far from his best - a few points that tasted nonetheless - but that was enough to rule out a Norrie who fought with the support of the public.
"I'm very, very happy," breathed Federer, visibly relieved at the end of the match.
"It was very, very close at the end and he deserved to win this third set. But at the end of the day I'm happy with the way I played," he added.
However, he still committed a lot of unforced errors, 33 for 48 winning shots.
But it is above all his solidity in the service that has allowed him to maintain a certain serenity.
He didn't commit a double fault, spent 67% of his first balls and won 74% of the points played on his first ball.
This allowed him to concede only four break points and to lose only two.
Since making his debut at Wimbledon in 1999, Federer has now reached Week Two on 18 occasions in 22 consecutive appearances.
He won the title 8 times and played 4 more finals.
In total, he will play his 69th round of 32 in the Grand Slam.
Finalist in 2019, the former world No. 1 is aiming for a 9th coronation on London turf to bring his record for Grand Slam titles to 21.
Operated twice on his right knee in 2020, he had not played for nearly fifteen months in competition until his return in March to Doha.
He has played very little since and made Wimbledon his only real goal of the year.
© 2021 AFP