Federer refuses to follow Nadal out of exit door

Chief Sports Writer

Saturday 30 June 2012

THE noise riffling around Wimbledon last night came from journalists consulting books to see where precisely it is said that lightning never strikes in the same place twice.

Benneteau belied his lowly ranking but Federer, below, refused to be beaten

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Hugh MacDonald

The drama played out under the closed roof of the Centre Court last night had the same sharp, explosive force as the bolt that struck this specific spot of SW19 only 24 hours earlier.

Then the victim was Rafael Nadal, the two-time Wimbledon champion who succumbed to the extraordinary power of Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic. Last night Roger Federer, King of Wimbledon, was standing in the self-same spot facing the power of Julien Benneteau, a hitherto journeyman in the world of tennis.

Federer survived, however, whereas Nadal's Wimbledon's hopes had perished. After going two sets behind, the Swiss clawed his way back into the match and went on to win 4-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1. It was the eighth time the world No.3 has come back from such a deficit to record a victory. This, though, was a testament to his will and fitness rather than to the sublime tennis gifts he has employed to extricate himself from similar situations.It was impossible not to applaud the 30-year-old for his grit, which is the very stuff of champions. It was difficult, though, not to come to the conclusion that Federer's star is keep aloft by his determination and only the residue of an once-great talent. The fifth and deciding set was an exhibition of what Federer can do when an opponent wilts. Benneteau, slumped in his chair in the decider, had his legs massaged heavily about 9pm. But life had gone from them. The set was over in 26 minutes in a match that stretched to three hours and 34 minutes.It was all so different at 8.30pm when Federer had to serve twice to stay in the championship and then faced a tight, tense tie-break. He prevailed but this was not the six-time Wimbledon champion in his pomp with flashing buccaneering backhands and precision forehands. This was a defiant performance from a man who knows he has been great and is not prepared to consign this to history. This was a man who knows he may be fading but that he is still a contender for the title, still an opponent to be respected, even if he can not be feared as in the days when he walked on to the Centre Court shrouded in an aura of invincibility. Benneteau, of course, had beaten Federer before, but only in a Masters 100 and that in Paris in 2009. Ranked 32 in the world, he seemed to be an innocuous opponent for the Swiss who had just dropped nine games en route to the third round. The players are the same age but Federer has won 62 matches at Wimbledon and Benneteau just eight.The Frenchman was trying to continue the trend of upsets in the top half of the draw though Novak Djokovic avoided the lightning by recovering after losing the first set. His 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Radek Stepanek became routine after an interesting start.Federer now faces another Frenchman, Xavier Malisse, in a section of the draw that includes only Richard Gasquet and Miikhail Youzhny as seeds. As Djokovic now plays his fellow Serb Viktor Troicki, the odds must be short on the No.1 and No.3 in the world reprising last year's semi-final. However, such was the untidiness of the once impeccable Federer that nothing can be taken for granted. Djokovic, reflecting on the Nadal match, said: "You cannot take anyone for granted. It can serve as an example that anything can happen in this sport."It almost did on the same spot. Federer, playing an opponent who has never won a title, looked to be cut dangerously adrift after losing the first two sets. But he came back as he did against Alejandro Falla of Colombia in 2010."He was making me doubt," said Federer of those moments when his hopes of matching the record of seven Wimbledon titles held by William Renshaw and Pete Sampras dimmed. He showed his experience and a will hardened by a decade of top-class competition.The doubts were shared by the crowd. Benneteau seemed to have the momentum, particularly when winning the second set tie-break. However, Federer became viciously aggressive at the start of the third set and raced away with it. The Frenchman showed his spirit to contest the fourth and was several times two points from victory. Yet when the tie-break came, no-one could have been surprised when Federer prevailed.The fifth set was almost a formality. The spring in the step of Benneteau had long gone. The glint was in the eye of Federer. There was a tangible expectation from his loud support on Centre Court. He raced away with it in 26 minutes. Benneteau ruefully reflected later that he his time under the roof had been "a magic moment". It was all of that but it also the night that lightning struck again. Roger Federer had enough left in those ageing legs and enough will in that resilient frame to jump away from it. But only just.

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Federer refuses to follow Nadal out of exit door

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