At least make him play the matches.
Roger Federer, that is.
Federer need only 16 minutes to win the first set agasint France’s Adrian Mannarino. Adrian Mannequin, more likely.
The third round at Wimbledon is no place for 6 – 0 sets, but Mannarino came to life in the second set that was not decided until 12 games had been played.
Alas, that was Mannarino’s crowning moment, as he went out 6 – 4 in the third and Federer’s work for the day took only 105 minutes.
Federer said, in remarks published by the Herald Sun, “It was great to win that first set so quickly. It was important for me to stay focused. I didn’t miss much. I was very happy with the match and very pleased to be back into the second week.”
The only ones who missed much were those who thought they could step away from the match for a moment to do what had to be done, only to learn that it was soon over. The All England Tennis Club enjoyed the economy of a match that barely dented their supply of fresh balls.
Federer is into the last eight for the 16th time in 20 attempts at The Championships. He has played a total of 106 matches on the lawns, winning 95 of them. He has won 32 sets in a row and needs just one more to equal the previous record of 33, a record which belongs to him and was established in 2005 and 2006.
He did not drop a solitary service game in the match with Mannarino, which translates to 81 games served without being broken over the course of four matches. Four matches. Eighty-one games.
They should make him handle the catering duties while he is waiting around for his next victim.
Fortunately for the organisers, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are still alive. As for any of the other remaining men in the draw, to suggest that one of them poses a threat to Federer would sound even more fictional that the results he is posting on his way to his ninth
Wimbledon crown.
