Roger Federer struggles past Xavier Malisse into the last eight – Wimbledon Championships 2012
Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, survived an injury scare and defeated the world number 38, Xavier Malisse of Belgium, in four sets 7-6(1), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships on Monday.
Interrupted by showers, the encounter lasted for two hours and 11 minutes before the third seed Swiss came out as the winner.
This was 850th match win of Federer’s illustrious career and with this, the Swiss legend has reached his 33rd consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final.
Federer and Malisse started stably, as they won their serve in the first 10 games to equalise the proceedings at 5-5. The Belgian made initial breakthrough in the 11th to move ahead 6-5 but managed to win only one point
when he served for the set in the following one, taking the score to 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. Federer played almost error free afterwards, as he dropped only one point and grabbed it 7-6(1).
The Swiss star took complete control of the contest after clinching a close first set, as he snatched three breaks of serve in the second one, allowing his Belgian rival to claim only one game and capturing it 6-1.
After losing first two sets, Malisse bounced back in the third one, breaking the six-time former champion in the very first game and consolidating on it to attain a 2-0 lead. The Belgian sustained his advantage till the end, closing
it 6-4.
Just like the previous set, Malisse hit a blow to Federer in the opening game of the fourth one and held his next serve to grab a 2-0 advantage. However, the Swiss Maestro bounced back and took charge of the proceedings once again,
bagging six of the following seven games to triumph 6-3.
During the post match press conference, Federer said, "I was happy they kept it [the roof] open because it is an outdoor tournament at the end of the day. We don't want to play indoors all the time. It's not that big of a deal
coming on and off. I know spectators would rather see a match than sitting in the rain.”
The Swiss champion added, “To see the Referee [Andrew Jarrett] coming out and inspecting the courts, that's the whole drama that belongs to Wimbledon. Eventually, if it's too bad and it's really raining, this is when you shut it.
There's just this drizzle the whole time. You figure at any minute we could come off.”
Federer will meet the 26th seed, Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, for a place in the last four.
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