Roger refreshed after short break

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

Roger Federer enjoyed a full weekend in England, and probably had enough time to prepare for his fourth round clash at Wimbledon today.

The Swiss star will take on Robin Soderling, only weeks after beating the Swede at Roland Garros and, because Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament that rests on the middle Sunday, Federer got a full weekend for a little relaxation.

"It's nice to have Saturday, Sunday off. It's nice get off all the pressure for a day or so before you get sucked into it again," Federer said, the Associated Press reported. "I like to go to the city. I don't do it that often."

After a nice day off in London, Federer gets back to work today, facing a familiar opponent: Soderling, the man Federer beat in straight sets in the French Open final this month to complete a career Grand Slam and tie Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles.

Federer is trying to break that mark by collecting No. 15 overall with a sixth Wimbledon championship this fortnight, while the 13th-seeded Soderling will make his debut in the round of 16 at the All England Club after beating Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-4.

Soderling's run at Roland Garros included, of course, a stunning victory over four-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.

So, Robin, if you can beat Nadal on clay, can you beat Federer on grass? "Maybe it's the same challenge," Soderling said. "We'll see."

The Swede knows Federer's game quite well - perhaps too well for Soderling's own good.

"It's tough to play against Roger. I've played him 10 times, and after the match I never felt like I played well. But, I mean, it's not because of me - I think it's because of him. He makes you play," said Soderling, 0-10 against Federer. "It's tough to play well against him, put it that way."

Federer beat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber Friday in a match where he dropped a set for the first time in Wimbledon 2009.

Not a match, mind you, just a set, which in and of itself counts as news. Dating to the start of the 2003 tournament, after all, Federer is 43-1 at the All England Club, dropping a total of 11 sets along the way. Here's the part that's interesting - and perhaps intimidating to future foes: Federer called his 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory over 27th-ranked Kohlschreiber in the third round his best performance of the week.

Another big performer, Andy Murray insisted yesterday that he can keep a lid on sky-high expectations that he is about to end a 73-wait for a British male Wimbledon champion.

Murray, bidding to be the first home winner since Fred Perry in 1936, took just 96 minutes to see off Serbia's Viktor Troicki in the third round on Saturday, allowing just a single break point and firing 17 aces.

His next match is against Swiss Olympic doubles gold medallist Stanislas Wawrinka today. But the third seeded Murray refuses to get swept away by the desperate hopes of home supporters.

"I'd love to get to the final, but there's a lot of tennis to be played in the second week," said the Scotsman, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday.



Increased hype

Murray’s best showing here was a last eight place in 2008 where he was beaten by Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard went to take the title from Roger Federer but is absent through injury this year, a factor that has only served to increase the hype.

"There is expectation from the media and the people who read the newspapers. That's where the expectation gets bigger and greater.

"But I don't try to do anything different. It's just one of those things that you get used to dealing with. I have never had a problem dealing with it in the past and I would be surprised if that changes next week." Murray expressed his satisfaction with his current performance, but is aware that there is still much room to improve.

"I'm happy with my first week here," said Murray. "I have to play better next week if I want to win the title."

Meanwhile, the only Turkish player at the tournament, İpek Şenoğlu was knocked out of Wimbledon in the third round. Şenoğlu and her partner Kaia Kanepi of Estonia were beaten by Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Vania King in straight sets to be eliminated from the women’s doubles contention. This was the first time Şenoğlu, 30, played at Wimbledon.