Federer looks peerless on surface

We saw flashes of what is needed. We had a peep of the heights that are required to break Roger Federer. Marat Safin, the most talented underachiever in the game, reached them in fits and starts in the third set last night on Centre Court. But by then it was too late.

While Safin was able to touch the summits of the game, which are now the required levels if a player has intentions of causing harm to Federer on a surface on which he has not lost for 51 matches and has dropped only five sets since the first round here in 2003, he could not sustain it.

"I don't know if I played phenomenal. I just played the way I had to, kept the ball in play," said Federer. "He was down quickly two sets to love, then the match started. From there on it was too late and I played a great tiebreaker"

Safin, a former world number one and twice a Grand Slam champion, really did not damage his opponent at all on a breezy, sunny evening on Centre Court.

In sets where a service break became a huge advantage, it was the Russian who gave up his too easily in the opening exchanges, the first set falling Federer's way 6-1 and taking just 19 minutes.

"It would have been a different story, that's for sure, if the first set was 7-6," said Safin before reluctantly acknowledging he sees nobody capable of beating the champion.

"I don't see anybody who can hurt him. Everybody knows how to play against him but they don't have enough weapons to hurt him, unfortunately," he added.

After that first set Safin must have been thinking that only one person a year takes a set off Federer on grass. But when he broke for 2-0 in the second set, it seemed he had played his way back. Federer, however, quickly regained the initiative, breaking back immediately, and from there it was a series of big service games and shorts bursts of majestic play on the Safin serve that carved out the win.

The set point for the Swiss was in itself remarkable. With Safin pushing Federer back with offensive, deep, ground strokes, Federer sliced a cross-court backhand to Safin's backhand corner. Setting himself up to hit his penetrating, double-fisted return, Safin was completely wrongfooted. Such was the spin on the ball, it checked, like a golf wedge to a forgiving green, and Safin was unable to even put a racquet on it.

There was little sense Safin could generate the consistent excellence that might knock Federer off his pedestal, though he could often manage to rough the champion up for a game or two.

In the third set his serving improved, and while Federer's remained consistent and strong, the set drifted to the tie-break.

So what player do you the bet the house on in a tie-break? The temperamental and occasionally volatile Safin or the coolest mind in the world of sport?

"He is always very emotional. You saw that today," said Federer afterwards. "I changed that. That's why I look maybe much, much more professional now.

"It wasn't easy for me. It took me many years to understand why I am working hard. What am I working on? For what specific goal? It's very confusing in tennis."

Andy Roddick was clear-headed enough to restrict Fernando Verdasco to three sets in the gloaming. A pacy first two, which he won 6-3 and 6-4 in 58 minutes, were followed by a third that went to a tie-break. The big right arm clicked in and Roddick won it 7-2, to ensure a restful night.

The fifth seed, Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, became the biggest casualty of the tournament so far when he lost in five sets to the Serb Janko Tipsarevic.

The rain-interrupted match on Centre Court finished after three hours and 35 minutes with a Tipsarevic ace, the scoreboard reading 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6.

In the women's draw the only real big-name casualty yesterday was Switzerland's Martina Hingis, the ninth seed.

Nowhere near her peak of fitness or play, the former world number one had arrived at Wimbledon injured and goes home none the wiser about the state of her health and convinced she should not have entered.

"I think overall I shouldn't, shouldn't have come," she said.

"I definitely feel there is something going on, some inflammation (of a foot)."

She bowed out to the American Laura Granville, 6-4, 6-2, rather too tamely to a player ranked 77 in the world.

That defeat contrasted sharply with the passage of Serena Williams of the US and Justin Henin of Belgium to the fourth round.

The French Open champion returned yesterday morning to finish off her match against Elena Vesina, ending it 6-1, 6-3.

Williams ran Milagros Sequera of Venezuela around the court for 43 minutes, winning 6-1, 6-0 to set up a meeting with Daniela Hantuchova.

"I'm about a six or a seven (out of 10) today," said Williams. "Just steady pace. Peaking at the right time." Indeed.