Scottish Daily Mail

Records? I’m only focused on Slam No 18

RIATH ALSAMARRAI Federer spies his chance of glory

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TWO more records were added to the list and Roger Federer did not have the faintest idea about either of them. At some point in his long career he simply stopped counting those things that don’t shine.

In this case, he was completely unaware he had just levelled Martina Navratilov­a’s tally of 306 wins in Grand Slam matches and also equalled Jimmy Connors’ haul of 14 Wimbledon quarter-finals.

‘I didn’t even know,’ he said after kicking Steve Johnson around for an hour-and-a-half. ‘It’s not something I ever chased.’

With that he smiled the smile of a man with bigger goals to hunt and a far gentler climb to get them than normal.

The exit of Novak Djokovic has made dreaming all the easier for just about every man left in the draw and Federer stands to benefit more than most, given the Serbian was meant to be his date for the semi-final and this surface offers Federer his best chance to add to his 17 Slams.

At 34, it has long been suggested that his trophy-collecting days are over. He is a decade removed from the most productive patch of his incredible career and four years on from his last major win, on these lawns in 2012.

But if there is one thing that keeps Federer coming back, it is the chance to win one more title at Wimbledon. That eighth crown, he explained yesterday, was the motivation to keep going.

‘In life there is so much more to come,’ he said. ‘But in tennis, there’s not that much more. I hope there is a bit more in tennis — I hope I can win Wimbledon one more time. That would be nice.’

In his journey towards the championsh­ip round, the Swiss has already been blessed with kind pairings, up to and including yesterday’s assignment against the world No 29.

He cantered until early in the third set when, briefly, Johnson held a break of serve. But Federer broke back in the next game and again at 5-5 before serving out the match. After four rounds, he is yet to drop a set.

The challenge starts now. He next faces Marin Cilic, the ninth seed who crushed the Swiss on his way to winning the 2014 US Open and who is coached by Goran Ivanisevic.

Federer’s longevity was best illustrate­d yesterday when he discussed Ivanisevic’s place in Cilic’s team and suddenly remarked: ‘It’s so funny — I think I played against most of the coaches out there now.’

‘He’s done a wonderful job with Marin,’ added Federer. ‘I think he’s a very easy guy to work with but Goran got him to the next level. Marin will be really tough to play. I practised with him when I arrived here and he was playing great.

‘Serving, boom, forehand, boom, serving, boom, backhand, boom. He’s very aggressive. He blew me off the court at the US Open. And he’s really improved his serve in the last few years. I know what I’m getting into.’

If Federer can secure his passage into the semi-finals, he will take on either Djokovic’s conquerer Sam Querrey or Canadian Milos Raonic.

Querrey was determined to prove he is no one-hit wonder after beating Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 7-6, 6-4. ‘If I didn’t win there would have been a lot of: “Wow, it was kind of a fluky match against Novak because you didn’t back it up”,’ he said.

A tradition has developed at Wimbledon in recent years of giant-killers falling at the next hurdle. Lukas Rosol went out in the third round in 2012 after beating Rafael Nadal and Sergiy Stakhovsky, who beat Federer in 2013, also went out in the next round. But Querrey was determined he would not be added to their number.

‘The win over Novak was really exciting but I was playing for my first quarter-final, so there was still something exciting to play for,’ he said.

Winning 96 per cent of first-serve points helped him become the first American man in the last eight at a grand slam since Andy Roddick and John Isner made the US Open quarter-finals in 2011.

Raonic, meanwhile, battled back from two sets down for the first time in his career to overcome Belgian David Goffin 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 4-6.

The Queen’s club finalist credited coach John McEnroe for giving him an improved sense of self-belief on court.

‘He’s probably talking to me more about my attitude on court in a different way,’ said Raonic. ‘Telling me to go out there and impose myself more, make sure the other guy knows you’re there.’

 ?? PICTURE: KEVIN QUIGLEY ?? Vintage stuff: Federer takes another step towards an eighth title at Wimbledon
PICTURE: KEVIN QUIGLEY Vintage stuff: Federer takes another step towards an eighth title at Wimbledon
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