Wimbledon 2005 News
By Alix Ramsay | June 29, 2005

There used to be a theory that there was no depth in women's tennis, unlike in the men's game. Unlike in the men's game, the usual suspects always made it through to the quarters, semis and finals. Unlike in the men's game, it is always the same names playing the big matches.

But as Wimbledon heads for the final weekend, there was a certain familiarity about the line up. It was men's quarter finals day and, as every one expected that he would, Roger Federer beat Fernando Gonzalez as did Lleyton Hewitt to Feliciano Lopez (and broke a 1000 female hearts as he did so - Lopez is a bit of a looker).

The guys at the top of the rankings tree are now so far ahead of the chasing pack that their march to the final stages seems almost inevitable. And when it comes to Federer on the grass of SW19, his march to the trophy seems assured.

As he always does, he skipped past the sometimes brilliant, sometimes unbelievable but always fabulous to watch Fernando Gonzalez, 7-5, 6-2, 7-6. Gonzalez is the sort of player who can ambush the best with a forehand that ought to come with a government health warning. It is lethal. There is an awful lot of Gonzalez and he manages to get every ounce behind the ball to give it a fearful battering. But for all that he has given many a title contender a fright, he has never threatened Federer - few men have.

Hewitt has tried to push the Swiss of late but has not been able to get close to the great man. The last time he beat Federer was in the Davis Cup in 2003 when, from two sets and a break down, Hewitt battled his way back to win the match. Such defeats do not happen often to Federer and, unsurprisingly, he remembers the moment quite well. But what is surprising is that he regarded that match as a real confidence booster. Prior to that, Hewitt had always beaten Federer with some ease but at last the Swiss had made Hewitt sweat.

"That match in a way gave me a lot of confidence because he beat me on many, many occasions before that," Federer said. "I really had the feeling I could dominate almost for three entire sets against him. And that feeling I never had before against him. I was up two sets to love, a break, serving for the match, you know, and I was really playing incredibly well. Then he fought back and we all know what happened. That match, of course, it was a killer for me, but in that moment it gave me a lot of confidence knowing that against Lleyton I can actually get my act together for three or even more sets, you know, in a row. I think that's why I could turn around the series for me."

Turn it around he did and, since then, he has beaten Hewitt seven times on the bounce. And now they face each other again, a fact that Federer positively relishes. Funny that. Last time they played, Hewitt was injured and Federer whipped him with ease. This time Hewitt is fit, fast and, on the evidence of his win over Lopez, in very decent shape.

Lopez was definitely impressed with Hewitt's serving. The left handed Spaniard was supposed to be the one banging down the bombs and collecting the cheap points but it was not to be. One sloppy game in the first set allowed Lopez to break but from there on, Hewitt battened down the hatches and never gave Lopez another hint of a chance. Just as Hewitt had promised he would after the fourth round, he had raised his game another notch or two.

Not that the sight of Hewitt in his pomp has worried Federer in the least. As Hewitt keeps pointing out: "He's really taken his game up to another level in the last couple of years. He's obviously the best player in the world for a reason." And the reason is that he does not worry about the likes of Hewitt, even if Hewitt has worked with Tony Roche, Federer's coach, in the past.

"I've hardly spoken with Tony about Lleyton's game, to be honest," Federer admitted. "It's more about concentrating on my own game and actually preparing for how the other opponent's going to play. You take that in consideration, of course. But most important is how I play. Because at the level I'm playing, you know, over the last few years and the confidence I have, I can allow myself to think this way, you know. But I don't think we'll go into this match any different just because he worked with Lleyton. I didn't even know that he did sort of. So I don't think that's going to play any role."

Andy Roddick, meanwhile, will be trying to get to grips with the subtle talents of Thomas Johansson. The Swede - and former Australian Open champion - got the better of David Nalbandian 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 and made it look very easy indeed. That is not what Roddick will want to hear as he had a desperate struggle to cope with the subtle skills of Sebastien Grosjean. It took five tense sets before Roddick reached the final four 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

"I think everyone knew this was going to be a tough match," Roddick said. "Sebastien has proved that over the past couple of years that he is great on grass. It feels good to get through it. After the first set I didn't think I'd played a bad set. I hit two bad forehands to get broken but I felt it was a good set."

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