Federer assumes complete control

Roger Federer is through to the fourth round at Wimbledon, the four time champion put away Marat Safin in straight sets 6-1 6-4 7-6.

Roger Federer is not given to boasting.
So when he said this week: 'I think I can pretty much control how things are being played on grass' - it was not arrogance, more a routine statement of fact.

He demonstrated perfectly what he meant in his 6-1 6-4 7-6 victory against Marat Safin, his 51st consecutive win on grass and a match which was as straightforward as tennis gets between two Grand Slam champions.

Tennis players do not come much more different than the Swiss world number one and the Russian who is built like an ox and sometimes suggests he has the brains of one.

Federer is all guile and elegance, thinking his way around Centre Court. Safin so often appears to just hit, as hard as his hefty shoulders will allow, and hope.

It is no way to progress deep into a tournament on grass, a surface Safin professes to hate.

You only had to witness the racket he broke in frustration and hear the screams of anguish as yet another big groundstroke went hopelessly long to understand the angst smouldering inside Safin.

It was as if Safin did not believe he could beat the man who is closing in on Bjorn Borg's five successive Wimbledon triumphs.

A pity that, because Safin was the best player in the world back in 2000.

He has won £6.5million in prize money and is a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won the US Open and the Australian Open, the latter title coming after he had beaten Federer in an epic duel which went down to a 9-7 fifth set.

The Centre Court crowd, who had waited until 6.30pm before the players got on court, were hoping for a similar classic on what was an otherwise unremarkable programme in SW19.

Federer, himself, had warned that Safin needed treating with respect. He said: 'He's a player who can upset anybody on any day.

'I hope he's not going to have one of those crazy good days against me.'

He need not have worried.

The first set went by in a blur with Federer slipping off his white top and trousers and proceeding to play a pristine set.

He was aided and abetted by a Safin intent on trying to blow Federer off court with his raw power but who only succeeded in demonstrating why tennis is a game of percentages.

Make your opponent play the ball is an essential creed of tennis champions. It is not often followed by Safin.

The set lasted 19 minutes, Federer breaking in the fourth and sixth games and putting together a string of 11 consecutive points.

Those were the statistics. The ease with which he secured that domination, however, was most impressive.

Not that it was a perfect Federer display. He answered the call of the wild himself in the second game of the second set when he lost his serve for the first time this tournament, slugging wayward forehands and backhands beyond the lines.

Such rare lapses need to be capitalised upon. Instead Safin lost his very next service game and Federer resumed control.

A bad bounce which saw Safin flailing at fresh air on the baseline did not improve the Russian's mood.

At least, after losing the second set, Safin did demonstrate that along with his passion for fast cars he does, after all, have pride in the day job.

He did so by taking a high-class third set to a tie-break which Federer took 7-4 when Safin missed an easy volley and resumed his wild ways.

Next up for the champion is Germany's Tommy Haas and it would be a brave or foolish man who would bet against win number 52.