A confident Federer beats down Ancic

No. 2-seeded Rafael Nadal dashed the hopes of Andy Murray in three sets.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Lest anyone forget that Roger Federer has, indeed, lost at Wimbledon, the BBC filled time during a rain delay Wednesday by rolling tape of his 2002 first-round exit against Mario Ancic.

That, of course, was the last time Federer stepped on a court at the All England Club — or anywhere on grass, for that matter — and walked away without winning.

Once Wednesday’s weather cleared up, Federer faced off against Ancic on Centre Court once more, only this time they were playing in the 2008 quarterfinals, and it was no contest whatsoever. The top-ranked Federer dismissed Ancic 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 to extend all manner of streaks: 39 consecutive wins at Wimbledon, 64 consecutive wins on grass, and 17 consecutive semifinal appearances at Grand Slam tournaments.

There were other numbers at which to marvel, not the least of which was this: Federer won 61 of 71 points on his serve.

Asked afterward if he could pick one match over his career that stands out from the rest in terms of quality, Federer replied, “Thankfully, I get those moments quite often, actually.”

So there.

If anyone wondered whether the thumping he took from Rafael Nadal in last month’s French Open final might have a lasting effect on Federer, it sure doesn’t sound as though there’s anything wrong with his confidence — particularly here.

“I’ll have a chance to win this tournament for the next five or 10 years,” said Federer, whose semifinal opponent Friday is the resurgent Marat Safin, a former No. 1 player who owns two Grand Slam titles.

“My game’s made for grass,” Federer continued. “There will always be tough opponents, dangerous opponents. That has been the case for the last years, as well. But I found a way to win always. Of course, my dream is to not only win this year, but many more years to come.”

He is trying to become the first man since 1886 to win Wimbledon six years in a row. Pete Sampras never did it. Neither did Bjorn Borg. The only man who did? Willie Renshaw, and he only needed to win one match in each of his five title defenses, because back then the reigning champion got a bye into the final.

Federer is forced to navigate a tougher path, and the expectation this year has been that he will face his nemesis Nadal in a third straight Wimbledon championship match. The second-ranked Nadal moved closer to that by overwhelming 12th-seeded Andy Murray of Britain 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 for his 22nd consecutive victory overall.

Just like Federer did against Ancic, Nadal avoided facing a single break point against Murray, who was in his first major quarterfinal.

“I feel like the return is normally a strong part of my game. I had no chance at all really on his serve, which was a shame,” Murray said. “He’s improved his game a lot on the grass in the last couple of years. Definitely, he’s the second-best grass-court player behind Federer. He’s definitely closer to him this year than he was.”

Nadal, the four-time French Open champion knows he’ll be facing an unseeded player next, but he doesn’t know which one. The quarterfinal between 94th-ranked Rainer Schuettler and 145th-ranked Arnaud Clement was suspended because of darkness at one set apiece.

They’re slated to resume play today, when the forecast calls for showers, and whatever the outcome, Nadal would be an overwhelming favorite.

Safin acknowledges Federer should be looked upon that way in their matchup.

“I’m playing semifinals, but that doesn’t mean that I have a chance there, because the guy has won how many times already here?” Safin said after beating No. 31 Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-3. “To beat Federer you need to be Nadal and run around like a rabbit and hit winners from all over the place. ... It’s just a little bit too difficult for me to beat him.”