Roger Federer wins Wimbledon 2009 man title

The tennis lovers would have had a feast for their eyes on Sunday evening, if they had got a chance for watching the Wimbledon 2009 final match.

The Swiss tennis champion Roger Federer made tennis history Sunday, winning the sixth Wimbledon title in 7 years to claim an all-time best 15th Grand Slam trophy 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14 over American Andy Roddick.

The Swiss, only man to appear in seven consecutive Wimbledon finals, re-wrote the records in front of tennis royalty - Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras, the seven-time All England club champion with whom he shared 14 Grand Slam honours.

Serena Williams won the Wimbledon 2009

Serena Williams has won the ladies' singles title by defeating her sister Venus in straight sets. The first set went to a tiebreak but Serena then raced away to take the second. Follow the rest of the action from Wimbledon here.

Roddick Shatters Murray's Dreams In Semis

The third seed had hoped to become the first British man to reach the final in 71 years but the American outplayed him to win 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5).

While Murray looked nervous at the start, Roddick served two aces in the first game and sent down the fastest delivery of the tournament at 143mph in the third.

The sixth-seed broke Murray, 22, in the final game of the first set.

The Scot broke back immediately and took the second set but could not compete with Roddick's consistency in the following two sets.

He held three break points in the first game of the third and had a set point in the tie-break but failed to take advantage on either occasion.

Murray said afterwards: "I'll move on very very quickly and go and work on my game and improve and come back stronger.

"That's a pathetic attitude to have if you lose one match and you go away and let it ruin your year.

"I've had a very good year so far. I'm very close to the top of the game."

Asked if he could win Wimbledon, he said: "I think I have a chance and I think the way I played this year was very close to getting to the final."

He added: "I'll come back next year and try and do better."

Roddick will face Roger Federer in Sunday's final after the five-times champion beat Tommy Haas 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-3.

Roger Federer & Andy Roddick reach in Wimbledon 2009 Finals

Roger Federer and Andy Roddick will be facing each other for the third time in the Wimbledon finals.

Roddick has had a tough time at Wimbledon after he faced Lleyton Hewitt in the quarter finals and Andy Murray in semi. Even though the odds were against him for both these matches, he proved that all those said that he will lose were wrong.

Andy Roddick's win over Andy Murray broke the hearts of the home nation and set up a final against Roger Federer, who earlier beat Tommy Haas. The final will be a repeat of 2004 and 2005, when the Swiss was an easy winner.

Williams Sisters Enter Wimbledon 2009 Finals

Serena and Venus Williams will face each other in the finals of Wimbledon for the fourth time. The sisters won the semi-finals in contrasting styles.

Serena reached her fifth final with a 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 8-6 win over Elena Dementieva of Russia in the longest semifinal in the tournament's history.

The match lasted 2 hours 49 minutes.

But top seed and World No 1 Dinara Safina of Russia latter suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Venus Williams as the American sailed to an easy 6-1, 6-0 win in just 51 minutes.

This was the most one-sided women's semifinal in 40 years. Venus, who defeated Serena in the 2008 finals, will be playing in her eighth final at Wimbledon.

Two-time champion Serena praised Dementieva who lost in the semi-finals for the second year in succession.

Leander Paes and Cara Black In Wimbledon 2009 Mixed Doubles Semi-Finals

India's Leander Paes and Zimbabwean Cara Black defeated Brazil's Andre Sa and Japanese Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday to storm into the semi-finals of Wimbledon mixed doubles.

The top seeded Paes and Black took just over an hour to beat the opponents.

Paes and Black broke the opponents twice in the first set and once in the second to register an easy victory. Sa and Sugiyama had their chances but lost 6 break point opportunities in the match.

The US Open champions will now face Australian Stephen Huss and Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual, seeded 12th, who defeated the Australian pair of Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee 6-4, 7-6 (6).

Roger Federer entered into Wimbledon 2009 Semi Finals

Roger Federer had a smooth sail in the quarter final match of Wimbledon 2009. The World No. 2 defeated Croatia’s 22^nd seed, Ivo Karlovic, to reach the semi final match. This win indicates that the second seed has reached the semi final match in the 4 grand slams for the 21^st time. He secured a powerful 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 to win against Karlovic.

When asked about the victory, he replied “I guess I can't really be any higher or confident after winning in Paris. Maybe I could have been even more confident if I had won last year. Either way a semi-final is always going to be difficult but I have got there now and I am happy about that."

Federer will face the world no. 24 Tommy Haas in the semi fials of Wimbledon 2009.

Williams sisters ease into Wimbledon double semi-finals

Venus Williams’ heavily strapped left leg has been a big talking point of The Championships and the defending champion showed signs of a limp as she booked her place in the ladies doubles semi-finals with sister Serena.

Again she took to No. 2 Court with industrial strength taping above and below her left knee but if she was in discomfort it appeared to do little to affect her performance as she and Serena disposed of 12th seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Vania King 6-2, 7-5.

Serena took to the court in a three-quarter length top – an interesting choice considering the sweltering conditions – and also with taping of her own: a strapped right wrist and ankle supports.

The sisters have a string of Grand Slam doubles titles to their name – three Wimbledon titles, one French Open, one US Open and three Australian Opens.

And here it was evident why. Dominant, aggressive play saw the Americans threaten their opponents from the start, although it was not until the fourth game that they broke serve – thanks to a winning lob by Serena. That was when father Richard, who had been observing the proceedings from the competitor’s guest box, decided to whip out his camera.

However, he seemed more intent on snapping the spectators and the new arena rather than his daughters who were watertight at the net and firing bullets on serve.

The German and USA duo challenged a call on set point – they had nothing to lose – but the result failed to go their way. The ball was out and the set belonged to the Williams sisters.

When the sisters broke at the same point in the second set the arena was at near full capacity and father Richard opted to shelter from the sun’s blistering rays under a blue umbrella.

It was then that Anna-Lena Groenfeld and King started to up their game, attacking the net well to win two games on the trot and break Venus as she served for the set at 5-3. Soon the set was level at 5-5.

But the 12th seeds were unable to maintain the intensity and the sisters earned a place in the doubles semi-final for the fourth time in their career.

Tommy Haas Reached in semi-final Wimbledon 2009

Germany's Tommy Haas reached his first Wimbledon semi-final at the age of 31 on Wednesday, outclassing a tentative Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.

The Serbian fourth seed, looking nervous from the start and rarely taking the initiative, managed to salvage one set but looked a pale shadow of the scintillating player who won last year's Australian Open.

The pressure of expectation now seems to weigh heavy on the 22-year-old's shoulders. His self-belief at a low ebb, Djokovic showed little aggression against a confident Haas.

"It's unbelievable. I have no words for it. I am playing some of my best tennis right now," said an overjoyed Haas after recording the biggest shock of the men's tournament so far.

The German always looked in control in the first set. He held his serve to love three times and broke Djokovic in the 11th game to ratchet up the pressure at just the right time.

In an engrossing second set tiebreak, Djokovic had three set points to draw level but Haas fought back from 6-3 down to take a comfortable lead.

"That was huge and maybe the key to success today. I said to myself - Wake Up," said Haas, a former world number two whose career has been blighted by injury.

Djokovic landed the third set with one decisive break of serve but was never able to dominate.

Haas, who beat Djokovic in the Halle final last month, raced into a 5-2 lead in the fourth set with supporters chanting "Let's Go Tommy".

The adoration was rewarded. Haas maintained his nerve when serving for the match and reached the Wimbledon semi-final at his 11th attempt.

Haas's progress to a semi-final clash with five-times champion Roger Federer, who had earlier taken the sting out of Croatian Ivo Karlovic's venomous serve to win 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 and book his place in a 21st straight Grand Slam semi-final, could not have been more laborious.

He needed two days to win both his first and third round matches. Both were suspended because of bad light and he saved two match points against Marin Cilic.

But he did have one stroke of luck - his second round opponent, Frenchman Michael Llodra, retired injured after colliding with the umpire's chair and one of the ballgirls.

But he now has a mountain to climb. Federer leads 9-2 in their previous clashes but Haas did take him to five sets at the French Open.

"I am going to give it my best shot. There is not much this guy cannot do," Haas said. "I am going to try and go out there and see if I can annoy him a little bit and go from there."

Mahesh Bhupathi And Mark Knowles Out From Wimbledon 2009

Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles twice erased the deficit but were still sent packing from the Wimbledon championships following a defeat in a marathon men's doubles quarterfinal against Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman in London on Wednesday.

The fourth seeded Indo-Bahamian pair put up a valiant fight before losing 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-7 (7), 5-7, 4-6 in a three hour and 37 minute match to ninth seed South African-Belgian pair at the All England club.

Both the pairs played a solid service game and as the first set did not see any break it had to be decided through a fiercely fought tie-breaker, which Moody and Norman won to take the lead.

Jolted by the early deficit, Bhupathi and Knowles rode on a break of serve apart from saving the only break point they faced to clinch the second set.

With no pair willing to concede even an inch, the third set was also decided by a tie-breaker, which Moody and Norman clinched to break into lead yet again.

Bhupathi and Knowles dug deep into their reserves and went on to win the fourth set to stretch the match to fifth set but could not stop their rivals from marching into the last-eight stage.

Serena Williams In Wimbledon 2009 Semi-Finals Beat Azarenka

Serena Williams stands just one match away from setting up another family showdown in the Wimbledon final after she hurtled into the last four with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Belarussian Victoria Azarenka on Tuesday.

The American was in stupendous form as she produced 25 winners, compared with only seven for her eighth seeded opponent, during the 73-minute exhibition of power tennis on Centre Court.

The US Open and Australian Open champion will next face Olympic champion and fourth seed Elena Dementieva.

However, fans and pundits alike feel that match will only be a formality for the American and she is being tipped to meet sister Venus in Saturday's showpiece match for the second year running at the grasscourt Grand Slam.

Dementieva reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second straight year with a crushing 6-2, 6-2 victory over unseeded Italian Francesca Schiavone.

The 29-year-old Schiavone had never passed the third round here in eight previous visits and rarely looked like threatening the crisp-hitting of the fourth-seeded Dementieva.

The Russian broke serve three times in the opening set and Schiavone's resistance proved equally ineffective in the second, and Dementieva progressed when the Italian veteran slapped a backhand over the baseline after 66 minutes.

Venus Williams In Wimbledon 2009 Semi-Finals Beat Radwanska

Sobriety returned to Wimbledon on Tuesday after the heady brew of the night before with Centre Court open to the sunny skies and women's champion Venus Williams blasting through to the semi-finals.

The 29-year-old American romped to a 5-0 lead against Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska and completed a 6-1, 6-2 victory on auto-pilot as slumbering Court One fans applauded politely in temperatures soaring into the 30s Celsius again.

Fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva then crushed Italy's Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2 in quick time meaning that holders of costly Court One tickets were treated to a mere two hours 14 minutes of singles play.

Venus will face world number one Dinara Safina for a place in her eighth Wimbledon singles final after the Muscovite wore down unseeded German Sabine Lisicki 6-7 6-4 6-1 on Centre Court in a match that at least resembled a proper contest.

Second seed Serena plays Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the day's last quarter-final with a sense of predictability sweeping women's tennis. Most pundits have already pencilled in a fourth Wimbledon final between the insatiable sisters on Saturday.

"That first set for me was really almost perfect," Venus told reporters. "Do I feel invincible? I'd like to say yes, but I really do work at it."

Having won 33 consecutive sets at Wimbledon it seems only Serena is capable of stopping her. Asked what it must be like to have to play herself, Venus said: "I have no idea. I guess the same way I feel when I have to face Serena Williams."

The drowsy nature of what should be one of the biggest days in the women's draw was all a stark contrast to Monday's late-night blockbuster in which Andy Murray fought tooth and nail for nearly four hours to beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka under Centre Court's illuminated canopy.

That electrifying five-set contest will go down in Wimbledon folklore as the day the tournament changed forever and it was pretty much all anybody was talking about as the fans poured through the gates on another sweltering day.

Murray's victory -- played out in front of 15,000 fans on Centre Court, thousands more crammed together in the dark on Henman Hill and a British television audience of 12.6 million -- has set a high standard that sadly the women could not match.

"The only danger to the roof was that it could have been blown off by the crowds," Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins said of the events of the previous night.

Murray, who had a day off to recover before his last eight assignment against Juan Carlos Ferrero, said it was the noisiest crowd he had ever played in front of -- which for somebody with experience of US Open night sessions was quite a statement.

Serena Williams In Wimbledon 2009 Semi-Finals

Serena Williams blasted her way into the semi-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over the hugely promising Victoria Azarenka. The 19-year-old from Minsk subjected Williams to a crushing defeat in their last encounter earlier this year, but here she threatened only briefly in the second set before Serena got her revenge.

On a scorching day, the 10-time Grand Slam champion got off to a scorching start to match. It was the power and intensity of her game that was so stunning, and never mind that once again she was playing with both ankles heavily taped. Azarenka is rarely overawed by anything, and she herself was having a fine time hammering away from the baseline. But such was Serena’s aggression that the Belarusian simply could not stay with her. Serena’s play was littered with dazzling touches – a lovely running crosscourt forehand here, a 120mph serve there.

Of course Azarenka’s signature shriek was in evidence from the outset with every strike of the ball. Both were blasting winners around with abandon. But it was ominous that 27-year-old Williams – no stranger to the power grunt herself – was all but silent until the moments when she truly meant business.

Until then she looked watchful, almost wary of an opponent who she knew was capable of doing her mortal damage. No doubt the memory of April’s final in Miami – where Azarenka blew her away for the loss of just four games – was burning humiliatingly hot in Williams’ mind.

With Azarenka at 2-3, 15-30, Williams issued her first grunts of the day to underline the vigour of her hitting – and got the break point when she forced an error. A straightforward mistake from Azarenka delivered the break. By now Williams was looking scarily good, sending a two-handed backhand down the line from a near-kneeling position. She was also returning with huge power, and brought up two set points on Azarenka’s serve. A clouting forehand made the set hers. It had been an awe-inspiring display lasting 26 minutes.

Azarenka is a name on many lips this fortnight, and this quarter-final was a follow up to the last eight spot she earned last month at Roland Garros. She came into this match with three titles already under her belt in 2009, and it is not often mentioned that she is already a two-time Slam champion in the mixed (at the US Open 2007 with Max Mirnyi and at last year’s French Open with Bob Bryan). It is clear as day we are going to be hearing a lot more from her, both literally and metaphorically.

But if she was to make an impression on this match she needed to come up with something dramatic early in the second set. Williams saved one break point with a smash that only just crept over the net.

Serena sent a forehand long for another opportunity, but then delivered three aces in a row to rescue the game. At 2-2 Azarenka broke the Williams serve with an excellent return. But in the next game she gave away a string of break points with horrible mistakes, and on the third break point she made another error to put the set back on serve. By now she was leaking errors and Serena forced the conclusive breakthrough for 5-3, before serving out to love to secure her place in the last four.

Venus Williams In Wimbledon 2009 Semi-Finals

The five-time winner Venus Williams marched into the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Championships Tuesday without the loss of a set so far, pounding out a 6-1, 6-2 defeat of 11th seed Agnieszka Radwanska.

The American winner will face the winner from top seeded world number one Dinara Safina and German teenage challenger Sabine Lisiki.

The third-seeded Williams needed little more than an hour on court in the sun on a day when British "heatwave" conditions were forecast to touch 33°Celsius to peg back Radwanska.

Bhupathi And Knowles Reach Quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2009

India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Bahamas’ Mark Knowles entered the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon men's doubles with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-0 win over India's Prakash Amritraj and Pakistan's Qureshi.

Fourth seeded Bhupathi and Knowles took the first set, breaking their unseeded opponents twice.

Prakash and Qureshi came back strongly, breaking Knowles serve in the 12th game to make it a set-all.

The keenly fought third set went with on serve before Prakash and Qureshi had a set point in the 12th game, again in Knowles serve. This time, however, Knowles and Bhupathi wriggled out of the tight spot and then dominated the tie-break.

Bhupathi and Knowles were in full control in the fourth set and were leading 4-0 when rain stopped the play. They came back to blank Prakash and Qureshi and win the match that went almost three hours.

This is the second time Bhupathi and Knowles stopped an Indians run in men's doubles. They had earlier beaten Somdev Devvarman and South African Kevin Anerson.

Federer v Soderling - Preview, Wimbledon 2009

Last year’s Wimbledon rematch of the French Open Final took place on the final day of The Championships. It was a match that upset the tennis world order and things haven’t been the same since. Rafael Nadal’s victory ended Roger Federer’s five-year domination at the All England Club, and it set in train a series of events that led to Nadal usurping Federer as the world No.1 and much more.

Monday’s French Open final rematch between Federer and Robin Soderling could upset the tennis world order even more...but only if Soderling wins. Since winning at Roland Garros and given his serene progress through the draw so far, Federer is being inked in by many as the 2009 champion.

Federer has never lost to the Swede in 10 encounters but, then again, Soderling knows something about springing a surprise. To reach the French Open final, he became the only man ever to beat Nadal at Roland Garros.

“If you asked me before Paris, I would say he's definitely more dangerous on grass than on clay, but then you saw all those great matches he played in Paris and you're worried, too,” Federer said.

”So he's definitely proven his point that he's a good all‑around player. I haven't actually thought about the match at all yet. But I think it's going to be interesting to see how he's going to enter that match after coping with such a long tournament in Paris and see how fresh he still is. But I've played him here in the past, and I've played him on grass a few times now.

“I've had success against him, but I know the danger because he hits extremely hard.”

This is uncharted territory at Wimbledon for Soderling, who will take heart from having beaten Nadal at the French Open.

He said: “Maybe it's the same challenge. It's very tough to beat Rafa on clay, and it's as tough to beat Roger on grass. But I made it once. We'll see. It's going to be a tough match, for sure.”

Soderling has never made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon before, but until Paris three weeks ago, he had never been in the final of an outdoor tournament. If the roof is closed over Centre Court and Soderling is technically indoors, could he upset the tennis world order again?

V. Williams v Ivanovic - Preview, Wimbledon 2009

Ana Ivanovic has got her head up just at the moment, and she’s feeling increasingly confident, despite making heavy going of her first match against Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic. She reckons she has got a fair chance in her fourth round match against defending champion and third seed, Venus Williams.

And if appearances were to be believed, 13th seed Ana could be forgiven. Venus has had her left leg taped up for most of the week. But she has been teasing the press about it, batting away any thought of injury, insisting that it’s just comfortable and supportive.

She joked: “I was thinking maybe I could get a permanent one. So maybe you'll see me with one that's neoprene and Velcro and all that good stuff. You never know.”

Maybe it is a new fashion item, because it certainly has not hampered her performance as she has swept cleanly through her first three rounds without dropping a set.

Their head-to-head record is 5-1 in 29-year-old Venus’s favour, but their only meeting on grass was here at Wimbledon in the 2007 semi-finals, which Venus won in straight sets, before going on to win The Championships. What Venus remembers of her encounter with the Serb is that “we had a lot of great exchanges. I just remember playing aggressively”.

She said: “Obviously she's talented. I think this is a good surface for her; as far as her game [goes], she does everything well.”

And Ana has been watching Roger Federer to pick up tips playing on grass, and feels it suits her game. The 21- year-old has already said she is playing better tennis than ever before, even compared to when she was ranked number one in the world, 12 months ago.

She’s now playing ranked at No. 12, and is relishing the encounter with Venus. That last time, Ana said, “was the only time we played on the grass, and it's so different. She likes to go for her first shot. She likes to dominate the points. I just think I have to try to make a lot of returns. And ,obviously, it's going to be important for me to serve well in that match because she has great first serves. So if I can hold on to my serve and then put pressure on her, that would be a key.”

Ana continued: “She's very dangerous opponent, but I think I have a great chance, and I feel very comfortable going in that match. I'm so excited to have opportunity for that challenge."

It would be good for Venus to have some stiff opposition, so let’s hope Ana is playing as her recently mature and newly-focused self.

Tommy Haas and Cilic locked in thriller

A four-hour marathon on No.1 Court was suspended in the gathering darkness at 9.33pm with Marin Cilic and Tommy Haas standing level at 5-7, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) 6-6 in the final set. By the time they were forced to give in to the failing light, both men had saved two match points in an encounter that swung unpredictably this way and that.
Early on this match looked like being an unmitigated disaster for Haas, 31. The 11-year age gap between the players yawned as 20-year-old Cilic blasted away from the baseline. The German was obliged to save two break points to prevent a 0-4 scoreline. But he managed it, inching his way on to the scoreboard at 1-3.

Openings were few for him, even on his own serve, and he also produced double faults at the most unwelcome moments. But he hung on and stayed in touch, although for what seemed a long time he could make no impression on the Cilic serve.

Then Haas held to love for the first time for 5-3, and the one-time world number two seemed to take heart from it. Next game a netcord helped save a Cilic set point, and then suddenly a double fault from the Croatian handed his opponent a thoroughly unexpected break point.

Crucially Haas got the first serve back, and in the subsequent rally Cilic put a potential winner wide. It was 5-5. Haas was gaining confidence visibly, typified by a beautifully judged lob. Meanwhile, errors were creeping into Cilic’s game at exactly the wrong time. Haas forced a break point for 6-5 with an unreturnable forehand, and not only converted it, but served out to love. Out of nowhere, it seemed, he had won the set.

Haas managed to carry enough momentum with him into the second set that he avoided the disastrous opening period of the first. It was sufficiently hard work that that at 3-3 he uttered what sounded very much like an audible obscenity when fluffing a shot on Cilic’s serve, but he received no warning.

A tiebreak looked inevitable until just as before, out of the blue the set turned. At 5-5 Haas found himself with a break point and controlled the rally superbly to convert it. Cilic saved three set points at 5-6 but a fourth was too much and Haas took the set.

Perhaps it was finally beginning to show that Cilic – seeded for the first time this Wimbledon – came into the tournament with no grasscourt form, having lost in the first round at Queen’s. Haas, meanwhile, arrived in SW19 as the newly-crowned champion on the lawns of Halle, having overturned the odds there to defeat Novak Djokovic in the final. Yet still the pattern of this match this evening felt like a shock.

But to vocal encouragement from the very visible Croatian support in the crowd, Cilic broke at the start of the third. He was five games up before Haas could stop the rot but it made no difference. Cilic sent down successive aces to capture the set 6-1.

At the start of the fourth set Haas was moving stiffly, and seemed to be having discomfort in his left foot. But as far as the score was concerned he was back on track. At 5-4 on serve Haas had two separate match points, but could do nothing with either and the set went to the tiebreak. Cilic took command of it and the match moved into the fifth.

By now Haas was tiring, and the 11-year age gap was beginning to show for real. Cilic broke at the first opportunity and got to 3-0 before the match turned again and Haas pegged him back to 3-3. Once again Cilic broke, and once again Haas levelled.

At 5-6, in the last game of the night before play would have had to be suspended in any case, suddenly Cilic at last found a way through again to grab two separate match points, and this time Haas saved both to leave the match on a knife-edge at 6-6.

Serena beat Roberta Vinci storms into fourth round

Serena Williams took the new No.2 Court by storm today as she played her 200th Grand Slam match and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Roberta Vinci of Italy.

There were one or two minor faults in the Williams display but largely she was well in control of affairs and left the 53rd ranked Italian chasing in her slipstream. It was often spectacular stuff, with the Italian prepared to try anything to slow Serena down but being unable to do so for long.

Serena is twice champion of Wimbledon, twice runner-up, and her aim this week is to put in all the groundwork required to go through to the final where, most likely, her sister Venus will await.

Williams hit 10 aces and more than twice as many winners as Vinci who was often forced on to the back foot but never became totally despondent. Considering the weight of shot that was against her, she was satisfied to break the Williams serve twice, once in each set.

Vinci had no such luck with her own serve and lost it twice in a row at the start of the match. This immediately put her out of contention in the first set, which Williams took after 29 minutes.

The Italian now needed to boost her confidence but she dropped her serve to love at the start of the second set when Williams hit two forehand winners and a backhand service return winner to extend her lead.

Williams did lose serve in the sixth game when she double faulted twice and, after being 0-30 down two games later, served three aces as well as a drive volley that scorched the turf.

The match ended in 67 minutes when Williams served her final ace for victory.

Federer loses focus but no big shocks

Roger Federer dropped a set and it didn’t rain on Wimbledon Day 5. The rain had been forecast, the dropped set had not.
At the start of the day, the weather forecast had predicted a 40% chance of heavy rain. But few people would have expected Philipp Kohlschreiber to get anything from his match against Federer given that he had lost in straight sets to the Swiss in three previous meetings.

There was not a drop of rain but Kohlschreiber gave Federer a contest 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1.

“I thought the rhythm was very high. We played a lot of tough points. I really thought from my side it was an excellent match,” Federer said.

“You also need the opponent to come up also with the goods to make it an exciting match, and I thought it was. Sure, I would have loved to win in straight sets, but he came back strong.

“Maybe my serve let go just a little bit. But he started to pick side a lot as well and took the right decisions at the right time and deserved the third set in the end.”

This was Federer’s 15th successive victory, his longest winning streak since the summer of 2007 when he won 18 matches in a row. He will break his personal record if he wins Wimbledon, as if he needed more motivation.

So another beautiful day at the 2009 Championships spelled another round of routine victories for the majority of seeds, including Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Elena Dementieva.

Williams and Dementieva were particularly impressive in their wins. Williams hit 10 aces and more than twice as many winners as Roberta Vinci in her 6-3, 6-4 win. Regina Kulikova made three times more errors than Dementieva, which explains the 6-1, 6-2 scoreline in the fourth seed’s favour.

The only defeats of note were ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and 15th seed Tommy Robredo in the men’s draw and Marion Bartoli, the 12th seed and 2007 finalist, and 15th seed Dominika Cibulkova in the ladies’. The ladies’ seventh seed Vera Zvonareva withdrew because of injury.

Gisela Dulko, the woman who upset former champion Maria Sharpova in the previous round, was beaten in three sets by 10th seed Nadia Petrova.

Federer refuses to speculate about possible opponents, but if he did he would have an eye on both Djokovic and Ivo Karlovic, who beat Tsonga in four sets.

Djokovic, the fourth seed, produced a competent 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Mardy Fish. “Today I performed the best match so far in Wimbledon, which is really encouraging for continuation of the tournament. The more matches I play, match after match I play better, which is always a positive fact.”

Karlovic beat Tsonga by virtue of his huge serve. The tallest player on the ATP Tour served 46 aces in his 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) win and did not give the Frenchman a break point opportunity all match. However, it was not until the 38th game of the match that Karlovic converted his only break point of the match. Plenty for Federer to think about.