TENNIS Live

Wimbledon - Quarter final - Men

Nationality Player Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
SwitzerlandR Federer676--
CROM Ancic154--

Roger Federer

Nationality SUI
Date of Birth 08/08/1981
Height 1.85 m
Weight 80 kg
ATP Ranking 2
Player Info Right-handed

Mario Ancic

Nationality CRO
Date of Birth 30/03/1984
Height 1.96 m
Weight 81 kg
ATP Ranking 31
Player Info Right-handed; Two-handed backhand
 

Live Comments

  1. ----- - Thanks to all of you who wrote in comments, and I'm sorry if we didn't have time to publish yours, and thanks to all of you for following our LIVE coverage. The Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal quarter-final is coming up shortly and can be followed LIVE by clicking on the link that will appear to the right! Thanks again.

  2. ----- - BUT FIRST THE WINNER OF OUR ANDY MURRAY NICKNAME CONTEST ALONG WITH A SHINEY, YEAR OLD WTA "2007 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO PROFESSIONAL TENNIS": Tiger Andy by Terence Holliday!! Terence, you can receive your book by emailing your mailing address to jstahl@eurosport.com!

  3. ----- - NEXT ON CENTRE COURT ANDY MURRAY V RAFAEL NADAL!!

  4. 17:55 - ROGER FEDERER THANKS THE CROWD AFTER THE WIN: "It's a long way to get to the semis, only four spots available so IÂ’m one of the privileged ones... Every time I get a standing ovation, it's a real treat for me, and I'm very thankful."

  5. 6-4 - Federer breezes to TRIPLE MATCH POINT with an ace out wide, and closes out the more than comfortable 6-1 7-5 6-4 victory with an 15th ace right down the T! The world number one puts down an imposing display for his semi-final opponent, who will either be Feliciano Lopez or Marat Safin. A 17th successive Grand Slam semi-final for the top-seeded Federer, who is through in one hour and 41 minutes.

  6. 5-4 - Ancic rushes ahead 40-0 before easily holding to 15, Federer will serve for his place in yet another major semi-final, his 19th in his last 21 Grand Slam appearances.

  7. 5-3 - Federer holds to LOVE, and Ancic will have to serve to stay in the match.

  8. ----- - NUMBER TWO ON THE NICKNAME LIST, MAINLY CAUSE WEÂ’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO CALL A TOP BRITISH ATHLETE 'GOOSE' OR 'GOOSER': 2. Andy "Mongoose" Murray... quick and surprising as hell and most dangerous when cornered - Johannes Munzinger, Austria

  9. 4-3 - Ancic wins a long stunning rally after battling from corner to corner, ultimately making it to the net, and hitting an incredible volley that Federer can only try to smash right back at the Croatian's body (Ancic ducks in time, and Federer apologises to his rival). The deficit stays at one break of serve.

  10. 4-2 - The procession continues, as Federer holds again to LOVE. I think thereÂ’s more suspense coming out of the nickname list.

  11. ----- - NUMBER THREE ON OUR NICKNAME LIST (NOT HAVING ANYTHING TO DO WITH SPINES, BUT RATHER WITH OUR AFFECTION FOR THE RANDOMNESS OF IT ALL): 3. Murray the Eel - Shan-jian Da-shi Chan y Dao

  12. 3-2 - Ancic sends the forehand error well wide, and Federer breaks to 15. That should be the ball-game ladies and gents.

  13. ----- - Top-five nicknames continued: 4. The Andyman (as in handy man) - Drew

  14. 2-2 - Federer holds to 30 after going down 15-30, his serve bailing him out of that game. The Swiss, still looking incredibly untroubled on serve, has yet to face a BREAK POINT.

  15. ----- - We're ready to roll out the top-five Andy Murray nicknames, starting with number five: 5. The Fly - derived from the Flying Scotsman also has a double entendre as he is annoying to his opponents and hard to kill off and catch (Andrew Brown)

  16. 1-2 - Much better from Ancic, who closes out the LOVE-Service game with a service winner out wide. Federer still in total command, as Ancic is having to get a look from the trainer during the change-over.

  17. 1-1 - Federer, in contrast, takes no time at all to hold to 15. The winners are also beginning to pile up.

  18. 0-1 - Ancic pulls through in the end with a volley winner! And that game lasted just under 20 minutes, which was the length of time that it took Federer to win the first set.

  19. 40-40 - An amazing running lob from the back of the court earns Federer another BREAK POINT. Very few players on the Tour can hit that shot, and Federer is the master out of all of them.... But again Ancic finds a way to save, wrongfooting the world number one with the forehand! Another DEUCE.

  20. 40-40 - A poor second volley into the net by Ancic, which was forced by a great Federer pass attempt, earns the Swiss yet another BREAK POINT, and again Ancic saves with the service winner - this time firing it out wide. Back to DEUCE, yet again!

  21. 40-40 - Ancic refuses to win this game. He sends the backhand error into the net. If this game goes another eight minutes, it will have lasted longer than the first set.

  22. 40-40 - Ancic saves another BREAK POINT with a great body serve.....

  23. 40-40 - Some more ferocious netplay from Ancic helps him to another GAME POINT, but again Federer fights back to DEUCE with a brilliant pass on the very next point. The Swiss just draining his rival's energy now as this game has gone on more than ten minutes. DEUCE.

  24. 40-40 - After a stunning volley winner from Ancic, Federer forces another DEUCE point with an absolutely brilliant backhand winner down the line following a wonderful 18-stroke rally. Federer gathering power from his white headband, which also keeps his tussled hair neatly in place.

  25. 40-40 - The third set is underway, and Ancic has already had to save a BREAK POINT.

  26. ----- - SOME MORE RUNNERS-UP IN THE ANDY MURRAY NICKNAME CONTEST: Handy Andy (info), MURAIL (Tom Tsui), MIGHTY MURRAY - ALTHOUGH HE HASNT LIVED UP TO IT YET! (LINDA) Amazing Ray - A from Andy and Ray from Murray (Sandeep), Murray the Mauler (Flutey). We'll be brining you the top-five shortly!

  27. ----- - NOW'S AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY TO GIVE YOU SOME OF OUR ANDY MURRAY NICKNAME RUNNERS-UP: ExdrodiMurray (Rotem), mighty murf (mike hall), Mussle Man Murray (Colin Morgan), Manly (Gerard from Australia), Alligator Andy (Richard Royce), Andy the Aardvark?? - Not many animals beginning with A or M never mind angry or ferocious ones!!! (Carole Huntington), A-Mur - I say take a page from the book of taking the first letter of his first name, and putting it with the first 3 letters of his last name, and you come up with the new improved nickname (Jayman).

  28. 7-5 - Federer fires the service winner out wide to book himself a pair of SET POINTS, and he only needs one a ninth ace down the T at 129 mph. The Swiss leads two sets to love and is cruising towards another Grand Slam semi-final.

  29. 6-5 - Ancic serves and backhand volleys into the net to gift Federer the BREAK POINT, a virtual SET POINT, as volleying from that side has really hurt the Croatian today. Ancic hits his second double fault of the match to hand his rival the BREAK OF SERVE and Roger Federer will serve for the second set.

  30. 5-5 - A beautiful forehand winner right on the line for Roger Federer is all too typical, and it gets him to 40-15 before the serve-out-wide-and-forehand-smash allows him to hold to 15.

  31. 4-5 - Maybe not, the way Ancic is serving, as he earns his own hold to LOVE and we appear headed for the breaker.

  32. 4-4 - Another LOVE-Service game for Federer, who makes it look effortless. He is going to change his racket now, and this is usually right around where the Swiss offers the deathblow.

  33. 3-4 - A terrible half-volley drop attempt goes into the net for Ancic, and that's just the kind of mistake he can't afford. The big Croatian still battles from 15-30 down to get a GAME POINT due to a tenacious display in a baseline rally, and he ultimately holds to 30 with a 120mph ace down the T, his sixth.

  34. 3-3 - Undeterred, Federer is right back on track with yet another LOVE-Service hold. He now has eight aces in this match.

  35. 2-3 - Another far more comfortable service hold from Mario Ancic. This second set is already playing out whole lot differently than the first.

  36. 2-2 - Still much better from Ancic, or I should say much worse from Federer, the Swiss shanks a forehand horribly to allow the Croatian back to DEUCE, and Ancic has now won more points in this Federer service game than he did in the first five of the match. The top seed still manages to hold to DEUCE with a couple of service winners in the end, but better from Ancic.

  37. 1-2 - Superb start for Mario Ancic, the big Croatian holding serve to 15 with a huge service winner out wide. We'll see how soon it takes for Federer to get back into his rhythm after that 100 minute delay.

  38. 1-1 - FINALLY BACK UNDERWAY ON CENTRE COURT: Just to remind you, Mario Ancic is serving at 1-1 in the second set having lost the first 6-1.

  39. ----- - Which means that our Nickname contest has sadly drawn to a close. We'll be bringing you the top-five shortly.

  40. 16:30 - To the delight of the Centre Court crowd, Roger Federer has just returned to the stadium in his fancy-pants sweater-vest, along with Mario Ancic. Tennis should be moments away.....

  41. ----- - Johannes Munzinger, writing from Austria under the pseudonym dr.gonzo, said this: "With delight I watched the first set of Federers clash with Ancic... Of course Ancic was far from playing his best, but Federer played in a way I haven't seen him playing since his match against Fabrice Santoro at the Australian Open. For the first time since then, he really got back his grace and his facileness. Murray has proven that he got it all to beat Nadal (AO). I believe in Murray and I'm looking forward to a Federer - Murray clash in the final."

  42. 16:20 - We've got quite a few responses to the nickname contest! You still have a few moments to send us your own before play hopefully starts up again. That email again is jstahl@eurosport.com.

  43. 16:15 - I know we've said this before, but the harder showers seem to have passed and the covers are coming up on the outside courts. Hopefully this time won't be a false alarm, but we'll definitely keep you informed.

  44. ----- - Alberto Manzi offers us a weather report from Kensington, which would be helpful if this were Queen's Club: "Every time we see a young good player in whatever sport the country tends to get behind him, just like with Wayne Rooney, Lewis Hamilton and Amir Khan. The reality is that he's an excellent player who is no doubt a potential Grand Slam winner but right now against Nadal in this form, seems a bit of a stretch. I expect him to win a grand slam in the next five years, but I doubt he'll win this one. P.S: I live in SW7 and it's definitely not raining here."

  45. 16:00 - Pete Swann has responded to David Caulfield's Scottish question: "It's blinkered attitudes like that which cause the aggro that was seen on the boards after Murray's hard won victory on Monday night. It's nothing to do with nationality! Murray has a touch of arrogance about him that rubs people up the wrong way is all. And it's that touch of arrogance and self belief that will take him further than Tim Henman ever went.I think Nadal will have the better of him today but it'll be another hard game... 5 sets, Nadal to win." Again, Cowardly Blogger wants no part of this conversation.

  46. ----- - Dah well, the rain gives us a chance to return to the Muzza v Rafa debate. It also allows us to play a new game: Can anyone come up with a better nickname for Andy Murray than Muzza? Something Tiger Tim-esque maybe? Perhaps along the lines of Murray the Mole, except a bit more ferocious. Send your responses to jstahl@eurosport.com before play starts again and will pick our top-five! Winner gets a virtual pat on the back, and if he or she really wants we'll go to the bother of mailing you a copy of the "WTA's 2007 Official Guide to Professional Tennis," only one year out of date!

  47. 15:50 - BOOOOOOOO-URNS!!!! The rain is back and the ground crew have quickly rolled the cover back over Court one, and Centre Court has received similar treatment! We were hoping that play would resume shortly, but obviously it could take a while still.

  48. ----- - Darren Wall is more upbeat on Murray's hopes today. As the British media have been doing all week, Mr. Wall offers the young Scot the sort of praise typically reserved for Tiger Tim Henman: "I think that the Nadal/Murray match will be a close one, closer than people think. I would not have said this before the Monday match, but it is finally good to see a British Tennis player with fight and a never say die attitude, its about time and maybe all the other British players can learn from this. As far a Federer goes, look at the score already!!!"

  49. 15:40 - RAIN UPDATE: The covers are off on the outside courts, which means they are coming off Centre Court as well! We will hopefully get some more play momentarily.

  50. ----- - Dweller W. Francis is less confident: "1,000,000 British fans plus a very fit Murray cannot stop the current form and determination of Nadal to win Wimbledon this year. Murray is out for a good hiding and lesson in resilient tennis. He should not expect same complacency that caused Gasquet his game. HeÂ’s better advised to conserve the strength he expends in victory celebrations as he will need every bit of energy against the formidable and solid Nadal."

  51. ----- - Zeljko Kuzmanovic is rooting for Murray because he wants to see some diversity at the top of tennis: "I really think that Andy could win if he will be mentally strong as he was playing Gasquet. Rafa is player who always tries to break down his opponents at the start of match, if Andy survives those attacks he can make it. Of course, it will be good for tennis cause it becomes boring to watch same guys in Grand Slam finals."

  52. ----- - Let's try to get in a few more commments. Yasser Brohi writes: "In other grand slams, Rafa hasn't really encountered local fanatics. If the crowd gets involved and his confidence is a little rattled, or nerves play a role initially, this match could be a lot closer than most people think. If Murray plays his best, and retains his composure, i think we could see the upset of the tournament. On the other hand, if rafa is in the same no-nonsense mood he was in at the french open, this could be a rout and a dagger into british hearts. My money is on Rafa."

  53. 15:25 - GREAT NEWS! The covers are being deflated and courts are going to be expected now that the rain has subsided a bit. That, unfortunately, could mean a pause in the downpour of banter we've seen come in about the Murray v Nadal match. We'll try and squeeze a few more comments in before play starts again though.

  54. ----- - Will Morrison, possibly of Airdrie United fame, has kindly fed Cowardly Blogger's ego. He says: "I don't think that Murray has the experience to handle the match coming up v. Nadal, as evidenced by the moronic flexing. His temper will get the best of him and I think he'll implode, letting Nadal just walk all over him. P.S. Very good match blogging by the way" I'm sure Will's analysis on Murray, or of life in Scottish second division football, or whatever else he may have said was fascinating, but we were too transfixed by the rare compliment to read anything before that. Thanks Will!

  55. ----- - One Nadal booster is giving credit where credit is due, to both Murray and Rafa's great rival Roger Federer. Malak Alsaffar writes: "i'm a huge nadal fan so i cant say i want murray to win today!! But having said that, Murray did play superbly the other night and deserves to get credit for it. I must say the crowd did him good- it's wonderful to see such support. Federer will soon dismantle Ancic. No doubt."

  56. 15:10 - Somebody has finally commented on the champion's ongoing match with Ancic (of course he does also throw his Murray opinion in the hat as well). Emmanuel From Nigeria writes: "despite what I see, I beleive Federer is yet to show his best, and will do that in the finals, and I disagree with Bjorn Borg that "a fit Murray can lift wimbledon" rather "a fit Murray will beat Nada"." I guess the implication there is that Murray can beat Rafa, but has no chance against R-Fed.

  57. ----- - Lenon Chichetu writes, accurately we might add, that beating Gasquet was peanuts compared to what it would tatke to beat Nadal: "I think the kid just got too excited in that match which for the moment was good because it won him the match. now this is the real challenge and all the expectations that he raised in this success starved country will crumble thanks to the man from Mallorca." P.S. The views of Mr. Chichetu represent his alone, and Cowardly Blogger does not endorse the second half of his statement.

  58. ----- - David Caulfield continued: "what about all those times when Tim henman, (the nearly) hero, got so close but never that far, no one ever said he was overrated, no it was always just oh he is amazing and he deserved to win that match but what a shame must not be his day or he was injured. I find it funny now there is a scot representing britain that no one is interested in him just because of his nationality, it would be a different story if he was english." That's a whole other debate that we cowardly bloggers want no part of.

  59. ----- - Chump or champ. The Andy Murray debate continues. David Caulfield writes, I presume to Matt Farrell, this lengthy response: "I would just like to take this time to say that your comments about Andy Murray are way off of the mark, he showed tremendous determination and fighting spirit to come flying out the blocks at 2-0 to win it 3-2, most players would of consigned themselves to defeat, but he has scottish mentality and he showed his class throughout that epic match. How can you say he is overrated when he beat a player who is ranked higher in the standings than himself?" (To be continued)

  60. 15:00 - No news is bad news. The rain continues to fall and play does not look to be coming back any time soon.

  61. 14:50 - Johan.Vikerskog's take: "He gives the impression of being bored when he plays. I know that's not the case. But it does look that way. But unfortunately for Murray fans I don't think he will be able to move the wall named Nadal."

  62. ----- - Andrei Cristescu says: "People tend to predict who's gonna win. I only try to evaluate how well each player's gonna perform. I believe bad weather hinders Nadal more than it hinders Murray, given their native countries. On the other hand, Murray's fitness is in doubt after a 5 setter, so he might try to shorten ALL the points, while Nadal will rightfully prefer keeping the ball in play ;) Should the grass be very slippery, a good strategy for both players will be: contre-pieds and drop-shots, but that's kinda dirty..." Nice analysis Andrei.

  63. 14:40 - More responses to our earlier query regarding how to spell the French number one's names, and some thoughts about Andy Murray's later quarter-final match with Rafael Nadal. Matt Farrell writes: "Richard Gasquet, it's not too tricky is it! Murray to go out in straight sets. Sick and tired of him." For any of you who saw Murray's brilliant come from behind win over Gasquet in the last round and want to defend the British number one's honour, or if you have anything to say about the ongoing Federer v Ancic demolition derby, just email jstahl@eurosport.com.

  64. ----- - The current weather report is that rain is not falling very hard, but it should be consistent enough - for the next 90 minutes - to keep the players off of the court.

  65. 14:27 - As always, we'll keep you up to date as to what's going on with the weather and as to when things are due to start up again.

  66. 1-1 - Federer drops only his second point on serve, but still easily holds to 15.... And BAD NEWS FOLKS, THE RAIN HAS STARTED AGAIN AND THE NETS ARE DOWN! The covers are also up, and play has of course stopped again. Just over half an hour worth of play was enough for the world number one to easily take the first set and leave it at 1-1 in the second.

  67. 0-1 - In another tight spot at 30-30, Ancic drills the ace down the centre line and then fires the service winner out wide to hold only his second game of the match. A cheerful reaction from the 2004 semi-finalist, who pumps his fist in delight. When Federer is playing like this, every point and every game a player takes seems like he's won a title.

  68. 6-1 - Federer rushes ahead 40-0 without seemingly taking a breath, and then confirms on his first SET POINT, as Ancic sends the backhand error into the net on the Federer second serve. That took all of 20 minutes.

  69. 5-1 - Another stunning pass on the serve and volley just demonstrates the Swiss's genius, and this time on BREAK POINT he forces Ancic into the mistake with a deep forehand into the corner after a brief baseline rally. The world number one, playing near perfect tennis, will serve for the opening set.

  70. 40-40 - Ancic finds himself in an awkward position on the serve and volley and Federer reads it perfectly to fire the pass winner and go ahead 30-15 on the Croatian's serve.... Ancic then prevents a double break point with a more succesfull serve and volley effort.... But Federer, forced back and forth along the baseline, hits an absolutely brilliant backhand cross-court pass to earn yet another BREAK POINT! But Ancic saves by forcing the world number one long. Back to DEUCE.

  71. 4-1 - Federer drops his first point n serve, but still holds to 15. The umpire is communicating with organisers, as some light rain is returning, they have to determine whether or not, and when or not, to delay these quarter-finals yet again. All systems go for now.

  72. 3-1 - Ancic gets on the scoreboard with a comfortable hold.

  73. 3-0 - Federer, yet to drop a point on serve, claims another hold to LOVE and fires another ace along the way. Although Ancic is the last man to beat Federer on grass, 6-3 7-6(2) 6-3 in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2002, the world number one has won all five of their meetings since including a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory at the quarter-finals of the All England Club in 2006. Federer has, of course, won 63 consecutive matches on the surface since losing to Ancic.

  74. 2-0 - Ancic hands his rival an early BREAK POINT, and Federer easily takes advantage of the Croatian's string of errors as Mario serves and volleys into the net to hand the Swiss the early BREAK OF SERVE! Roger Federer could make this a short day.....

  75. 1-0 - Federer has started things off on an incredibly confident note, rushing through the LOVE-Service game and firing two aces along the way. The perfect start for the world number one.

  76. 13:58 - And we're off! Roger Federer serves first.....

  77. 13:55 - And Rotem's statment is true!! The two men have started their warm-ups and ready to start any minute now!!

  78. ----- - Under the heading "This is the correct way to spell Richard Gasquet!!!" Rotem Benjamin writes: "I see now that Federer and Ancic start their warm up, and I only have one thing to say: Let's Go Roger Let's Go!!"

  79. 13:53 - THAT WAS QUICK: We've already got some responses to our call for quarter-final predictions. Nav Sandhu is backing a surprise candidate to win the entire tournament: "Hi i think safin will win wimbledon this year he has a big serve and ground shots if he plays to his best he will blow anyone away!!" Novak Djokovic would certainly agree with the last part of that statement, though I think Rafa and Federer might have a few qualms, as would Feliciano Lopez.

  80. 13:45 - A lot of activity occurring on our message boards. About today's quarter-finals, Stephen M writes: "Roger to win! As for Nadal and Murray, Murray needs to start well! Gasqeut (spelt wrong I know) crumbled under pressure! Nadal won't do that! He's far too experienced a player for that!" Write me at jstahl@eurosport.com to have your say and if you know how to spell the French number one's name correctly ;)

  81. 13:30 - Looking for something to read while waiting for the rain to stop? We caught up with 6-foot-10 ace machine and first-round Wimbledon casualty Ivo Karlovic a couple of weeks ago at Queen's Club, and even though he long ago exited these Championships we still felt like it would be fun to post information on his sporting hero (Michael Jordan), his favourite film (The Shawshank Redemption), and the first album he bought (Metallica's Black Album) in our weekly "60 seconds feature." Just click on the story on our homepage or on our tennis page to read the entire interview.

  82. 13:15 - We will keep you updated the second we get any more information regarding the weather, but the news isn't as bright as we had hoped. The referee's office has announced: "It's expected to rain until 4pm this afternoon but we are confident of a brighter spell and play soon after that."

  83. 13:10 - BRITON'S NEWEST WIMBLEDON HERO ANDY MURRAY HAS JUST GIVEN HIS OPINION ON THE WEATHER: "I just think you have got to stay patient, it's not looking terrible right now, it's looking like there could be some breaks... It's not happened to me that much before, I'm not that used to it... I think you just have to do what you normally do and stay relaxed."

  84. 13:03 - Bad news folks. The weather is giving us fits. As rain dumps down all over SW19, the covers are on all of the courts and play will be postponed. The good news is that the forecast is that the sky will clear sometime this afternoon and both men's quarter-finals should be played today.

  85. ----- - Welcome to LIVE text comments and scoring as five-time defending champion Roger Federer meets the last man to actually defeat him on grass, Mario Ancic, for a place in the Wimbledon semi-finals. Full coverage starts from 13:00 BST!

ATP Race 2008

Points
1 Rafael Nadal 1265 stay
2 Roger Federer 921 stay
3 Novak Djokovic 899 stay
4 Andrew Murray 520 stay
5 Nikolay Davydenko 417 stay
6 Andy Roddick 354 up
7 David Ferrer 337 down
8 James Blake 309 stay
9 Juan Marin Del Potro 307 stay
10 Stanislas Wawrinka 286 stay

Full Table »