Heartbreak

Roger Federer thrived in 35°celsius to thump Robin Soderling 11 times in 11 meetings even as Williams sisters Venus and Serena waltzed into the quarterfinals in sizzling Wimbledon heat on Monday.

Defending champion Venus easily won the first set against former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic, who retired hurt in floods of tears.
The Serb, seeded 11th, broke down while leaving Court I and still found it hard to maintain her composure at the post-match news conference.

“It’s very disappointing, especially because I felt my form was getting better and better. It’s really frustrating,” she said while wiping her eyes.

“I felt really sad for her actually. She was really upset,” said Venus who faces Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska for a place in the semi-finals.

Younger sister Serena, the second seed, beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1 in 56 minutes on Court 2. The two-time champion now tackles Belarusian Victoria Azarenka.

Fourth seed Dementieva, a semi-finalist last year, beat fellow Russian blonde Vesnina 6-1, 6-3 in 70 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a repeat of the French Open final where the great Swiss clinched a record-equalling 14th Grand Slam title, Federer won 6-4 7-6(7-5) 7-6(7-5) over the man who dramatically ended Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros reign.

Federer, chasing a sixth Wimbledon title, will be appearing in his 25th Grand Slam quarterfinal.

“Today was really a serving contest, there weren’t many rallies so it’s hard to judge these kind of matches,” said Federer. “But my form was great, I was moving well. He served a double fault in the third set tie-break otherwise it could have gone four sets.”
The Swede dropped just three points on serve in the second set, but Federer was the more composed in the tie-breaker.

Tommy Haas, the oldest man in the draw at 31, reached his first quarterfinal with a 7-6(10-8) 6-4 6-4 win over Russian 29th seed Igor Andreev.

Lleyton Hewitt staged the mother of all comebacks to come from two sets down to beat Radek Stepanek and reach the quarterfinals. Hewitt, the 2002 champion, won 4-6 2-6 6-1 6- 2 6-2 against his Czech opponent.

Prakash, Aisam lose
Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles eased into the fourth round beating the Indo-Pak pair of Prakash Amritraj and Aisam-ul-haq-Qureshi 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-6) 6-0

Fans cheer as rain arrives at Big W
The wait is over. Rain finally arrived in southwest London on Monday and Wimbledon got to show off its multi-million pound Centre Court roof in all its glory. Never before has the sight of drizzle raised so many cheers as spectators stood up in anticipation when Amelie Mauresmo and Dinara Safina had to run for cover and groundsmen sprinted on to the arena to pull the covers on court for the first time during the two-week championships. Once that formality was completed, 15,000 pairs of eyes glanced skywards with the sense of wonder that normally overcomes a visitor to the Sistine Chapel.

HOW THE SEEDS FARED ON DAY SEVEN
MEN, Round IV: 24-Tommy Haas (Germany) bt 29-Igor Andreev (Russia) 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 6-4; 2-Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt 13-Robin Soderling (Sweden) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Women, Round IV: 4-Elena Dementieva (Russia) bt Elena Vesnina (Russia) 6-1 6-3; 11-Agniezska Radwanska (Poland) bt Melanie Oudin (USA) 6-4 7-5; 3-Venus Williams (USA) bt 13-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 6-1 0-1 (retired); 8-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) bt 10-Nadia Petrova (Russia) 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-3; 2-Serena Williams (USA) bt Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-3 6-1; Francesca Schiavone (Italy) bt 26-Virginie Razzano (France) 6-2 7-6 (7-1); Sabine Lisicki (Germany) bt 9-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 6-4 6-4.