Federer takes royal route at Wimbledon

LONDON - The Associated Press

Switzerland's Roger Federer plays a backhand shot during his second round men's singles match against Italy's Fabio Fognini on day three of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament at the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on June 27, 2012. AFP PHOTO / ANDREW YATES

Six-time champion Roger Federer reached the Wimbledon third round today with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 win over Italy’s Fabio Fognini, a regal performance witnessed by Britain’s Prince Charles.

The third-seeded Swiss took just 74 minutes to defeat Fognini, who received a quick lesson in bowing from Federer before they walked onto Centre Court where Charles, on a first visit to the All England Club in more than 40 years, was watching with his wife Camilla.

Federer, chasing Pete Sampras’s record of seven Wimbledon titles, fired 13 aces and 35 winners in his rapid victory and has lost just nine games in his first two rounds.

“I’m very happy to have won and to be back on Centre Court. It’s great to have that feeling and to see Charles and Camilla up there is just great for tennis,” said Federer.

“We were told beforehand that they were coming and we were asked to bow. We said no problem.” Federer who has lost in the quarter-finals here for the last two years, next faces either France’s Julien Benneteau or Michael Russell of the United States for a place in the last 16.

He said he felt no ill-effects from falling to the ground in the third set whe he lost his footing, adding he was happy with his form.

“I’m serving well, my forehand and backhand are working well and it’s great to win so comfortably.”
US Open champion Samantha Stosur suffered another Wimbledon nightmare as the fifth seed crashed out in the second round, meaning there are no Australians left in either the men’s or women’s singles.
Stosur, 28, had never been past the third round in nine previous visits to the All England Club and that miserable sequence was extended with a 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 defeat against Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands.
Stosur lost her rhythm in the final set on Court One and allowed the world number 72 to take advantage.

Meanwhile, Italy’s 10th seed Sara Errani, the French Open runner-up, needed just seven seconds to complete her first round win over American qualifier Coco Vandeweghe after the tie had been rained off Tuesday.