Federer staying above the fray at upset-filled Wimbledon

Roger Federer at least had to play a full match on Thursday at Wimbledon, but he was not exactly tested to a significant extent–not after the first 12 games, in any case. Federer dominated an opening-set tiebreaker and was off to the races thereafter as he downed Dusan Lajovic 7-6(0), 6-3, 6-2 during second-round action on Centre Court.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion more than doubled his unforced error count with winners (31 to 15) while prevailing in a lightning-quick one hour and 30 minutes.

“I think the courts were playing quite fast today because of the heat,” Federer explained. “Then I played a great ‘breaker. I think from then on I never looked back. (I) got early breaks in sets two and three and was able to protect my serve in a good way. (He) never really found ways to get into my service games on first and second serves. That obviously relaxes you, and then you can go for more on the return.”

Next up for the 35-year-old Swiss is a resurgent Mischa Zverev, who is 0-4 in the head-to-head series and has never taken a single set against Federer. They have faced each other twice this season, with the former world No. 1 cruising in the Australian Open quarterfinals and via a 7-6(4), 6-4 decision a few weeks ago on the grass courts of Halle.

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“I don’t know quite what to expect in the match on Saturday,” Federer admitted. “Because he serves and volleys, points are played differently. Tomorrow and the next day I will train and warm up with left-handed players. I think that’s the biggest switch always when you play against an opponent who is left-handed, that whole swinging serve, kicking serve, especially getting used to the returning is most important.”

When asked what he can do to make Federer nervous, Zverev joked, “I’ll maybe give him a mean, angry look before the match.”

Wimbledon has been no laughing matter for some other seeded players, as Juan Martin Del Potro, Jack Sock, and John Isner all went down on Friday. Del Potro lost to a back-from-the-dead Ernests Gulbis in straight sets, Sock was upset by little-known qualifier Sebastian Ofner, and Isner fell in five sets to Dudi Sela.

Fellow seeds Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Ivo Karlovic, Richard Gasquet, Fernando Verdasco, and Feliciano Lopez are also out.

“I [didn’t] have my best day on court,” Del Potro commented following his surprising loss to Gulbis. “And he played really well. He served so strong all the time. I couldn’t break his serve (except once) during three sets. I think he’s a very dangerous opponent to play on grass, and he did much better than me today.”

“It’s all between the ears, I think,” Isner assessed after getting cut down by Sela. “I had opportunities, of course. When I don’t go for it, bad things happen. That was the case throughout the whole match: me not going for it. That’s why I lost.”

As for Federer, he has had no such problems.

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