Federer eases past Gasquet, will meet Norrie up next
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DPA Berlin Roger Federer cruised into the third round of Wimbledon with a straight-sets win over Richard Gasquet on Thursday. The sixth seed, seeking a rec...
DPABerlinRoger Federer cruised into the third round of Wimbledon with a straight-sets win over Richard Gasquet on Thursday.The sixth seed, seeking a record-extending ninth title at the All England Club, won 7-6 (7-1), 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 54 minutes to set up a tie with home hopeful Cameron Norrie.Federer was slightly fortunate to overcome Adrian Mannarino in his opening match, and the world number eight was initially given a tough time by another Frenchman in Gasquet.He saved three break points in the second game and held serve throughout the remainder of the opening set, as did his opponent to force a tie-break that proved one-sided.Using the momentum, Federer broke Gasquet in the second and fourth games and sealed the second set with one of his 10 aces.Gasquet had not defeated Federer since 2011 and any hopes of ending that run faded further when he was forced into an error in the seventh game of the third set for the only break.Federer had little trouble in seeing out the win on Centre Court, confirmed when Gasquet failed to overturn a decision from Hawk-Eye after running out of challenges.âI know Richard really well. Weâve played so many times against each other,â Federer said in his on-court interview. âItâs always a pleasure playing against him.âIt was a wonderful match. Iâm happy with my performance. It was a tough first set. I was happy with the second set and I was better in the third, so Iâm very, very happy.â Federer may not be a clear favourite for this yearâs competition as he makes his latest return from injury, but the 20-time major winner will still take some stopping in SW19.Next up is a challenge of a different type, with Federer taking on British number two Norrie in front of an expectant home crowd on Saturday.Zverev goes past Sandgren Earlier, Alexander Zverev played his way into the third round with a strong performance, beating United Statesâ Tennys Sandgren 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.World number six Zverev had no problems against Sandgren, ranked 68th, after an even opening phase and won after 1 hour 44 minutes. On Saturday, he will face Taylor Fritz, who beat Steve Johnson 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4.âIâm on a good path, but it was also only a second round. The next games will tell more,â the German player said. Kerber into third round with hard-fought victory over Tormo On the womenâs sisde, Angelique Kerber made it to the third round with a hard-fought victory over Spainâs Sara Sorribes Tormo.The former world No. 1 Kerber needed 3 hours 18 minutes to beat Tormo 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. In the third round, the 2018 Wimbledon winner will meet Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus or Japanâs Nao Hibino. âIâm relieved that I won the match, it was a big fight. This is one of my best matches in the last few months. I feel like I can still do it,â Kerber said.More Related News