Federer on course for title
Defending champion Roger Federer dropped his first set of the week but stayed on course to complete a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles when he overcame stubborn resistance from Nicolas Kiefer.
The world number one lost a tie-break and twice dropped his serve in the fourth set but they were only minor hiccups as he gained a 6-2 6-7 6-1 7-5 victory in two hours and 35 minutes to extend his winning run on grass to 32 matches.
Federer, who has not lost on grass since Wimbledon in 2003, will now meet former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, who today came from a set down to beat another German, Florian Mayer, 3-6 6-2 6-1 6-1.
Federer, forced to give up a weekend off after his third-round match was held over from Friday because of rain, looked to be making up for lost time when he breezed through the first set in just 28 minutes.
But Kiefer, the 25th-seeded German, is one of the few men to beat Federer on grass and his serve-and-volley game asked plenty of questions of the champion.
The 27-year-old Kiefer, who has beaten Federer in three of their previous seven meetings, made an impressive start to the second set, holding his opening service game to love, and that gave him the confidence he needed and he made the two-time champion fight for every point.
Kiefer came up with a 136mph ace to remind the title holder of his threat and the set went with serve until the tie-break.
A crashing return from Federer earned him a mini-break and he then produced a wonderful array of winners to surge into a 5-2 lead.
But Kiefer hung on and seized his opportunity when Federer put a forehand into the tramlines. The German then won five points in a row to take the tie-break 7-5 and level the match.
Stung by the loss of his first set of the tournament and only the eighth out of 86 during his 31-match winning streak, Federer roared back in emphatic fashion.
Kiefer had no answer to the champion's power and precision as he dropped his serve at the start of the third set.
Federer opened up a 3-0 lead and, although Kiefer gained his first break point - after almost two hours - the world number one served out to take the set 6-1 in just 29 minutes.
But, if the Centre Court crowd, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Andy Murray, thought the one-sided third set would herald a quick finish to the match, the bearded Kiefer made them think again when he broke Federer for the first time.
The world number 26 served for a 3-0 lead but the champion bounced back decisively to level matters, breaking his opponent to love in the process.
The unthinkable happened in the eighth game when Federer doubled-faulted twice, doubling his tally for the match, to drop his serve for the third time this week.
That gave Kiefer the opportunity to serve for the set and level the match but he was unable to capitalise, double-faulting on break point.
It proved to be his last chance, with Federer achieving a crucial break in the 11th game and serving out for the match.
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