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Federer: Powered through
2126 And that's it! A busy day which saw the loss of the women's top seed and also the men's fifth seed. Roger Federer marches on though.
2125 Safin saves two break points to get to deuce before finally ending Seppi's resistance. The Russian wins 7-6 3-6 7-6 6-4.
2122 Safin and Seppi are still out there with the Russian serving for the match.
2116 Ancic finally delivers the killer blow as the takes the tie-break 7-3 to record a three sets to one victory. The number five seed Ferrer is out.
2114 Safin goes 5-3 up in the fourth set against Seppi. Both these late-night games are coming to a finish.
2111 Ancic takes a 4-1 lead in the tie-break. He's closing in.
2108 Ferrer holds again and we're into a tie-break.
2105 Ancic moves 6-5 in front.
2102 Ferrer holds him off though to make it 5-5.
2100 Ferrer is fighting for his life now as Ancic, 5-4 up, gets to 30-all on the Spaniard's serve.
2055 Ferrer levels at 4-4 in the fourth set by holding serve to love.
2050 Ancic finally holds serve to go 4-3 up. Over on Court One, Safin wins a tie-break to go two sets to one up on Seppi.
2045 Ferrer continues to fight and, at 3-3 in the fourth, he has more set-points on the Ancic serve.
2013 Ferrer has break points on the Ancic serve but the Croat holds on to take the opening game of the fourth set.
2002 Ferrer is pegged back to 5-5 in the tie-break but holds his nerve to win the next two points and claim the set. The match continues with Ancic now two sets to one up.
1958 Seppi takes the second set against Safin to level the match at 1-1. That's the only other singles game still in action this evening.
1956 A double break for Ferrer in the tie-break puts him 3-0 up.
1952 No he can't! Some masterful serve and volleying by the big Croat makes it 6-6. Tie-break.
1950 Ferrer goes 6-5 up but can he somehow break the Ancic serve to take the set?
1945 Seppi is looking good to pull back to one set all against Safin after moving 4-1 up in the second.
1940 It's better from Ferrer in the third set but he still can't get a sniff of breaking the Ancic serve. It's 4-4.
1930 It's a straight sets win for Baghdatis as he sees off Stadler 7-6 6-4 6-2 on Court 2.
1924 Marat Safin, conqueror of third seed Novak Djokovic, edges a tie-break 7-5 to take the first set against Italian 29th seed Andreas Seppi.
1912 Ancic can't be stopped and he overpowers Ferrer to take the second set 6-4. The fifth seed is in big trouble here.
1901 Baghdatis is now two sets to love up on Stadler and for good measure he's also broken him again at the start of the third.
1900 Wawrinka is home and dry against Zverev but only because his opponent retired hurt. He called for his trainer but they probably thought it was a pointless exercise considering he was already two sets down.
1855 Ancic is too good for Ferrer at the moment by mixing the sublime skill with powerful hitting - and his big serve certainly helps. It's 4-2 now in the second set and the Spaniard has got to make something happen soon before the mountain gets too steep to climb.
1845 Over on Court 1 it's going with serve at 2-2 in the first set between Safin and Seppi while there are three other men's matches to tell you about. Tenth seed Marcos Baghdatis has won the opening set against Simon Stadler while Stanislas Wawrinka is leading Mischa Zverev 7-5 5-1 on Court 11. The clash between Feliciano Lopez and Bobby Reynolds is into a third set after both players shared the first two.
1840 Ferrer is struggling to regroup after that early blow and he's promptly been broken in the first game of the second set. Ancic has plenty of promise although it's about time he starts turning his potential into something more concrete. If he keeps this standard up then he'll be on the right track.
1830 On Centre Court Mario Ancic is looking pretty sharp against the fifth seed David Ferrer. Having earned three set points at 5-4 in the opener, the Croat drilled an unstoppable forehand down the line at the first attempt to take full control of this match.
1820 After all that drama it's now time to see if Marat Safin can continue his impressive form against Andreas Seppi. A lot of you think the big Russian has what it takes to go all the way this year so in theory this should be a comfortable match for him. Then again, we know what can happen on his bad days.
1812 It's all over and the top seed Ana Ivanovic is out - stunned and shocked by China's Jie Zheng, who thoroughly deserves this famous triumph. It was quite comfortable in the end and it appears that just about anyone could win the women's competition at this year's Wimbledon.
1809 The Serbian is still hanging in there but for how long? Zheng is now serving for the match - will the pressure of pulling off such a huge shock be too much for her?
1805 Ivanovic yelps as she misses an opening in the next game and allows Zheng to move 5-3 up. She is now serving to stay in the championship.
1800 The next two games go with serve but it's Zheng who is edging towards the last 16 and the top seed who's heading home. Can Ivanovic turn it around?
1755 It's going from bad to worse for Ivanovic and the top seed is on course for a shock exit. She had broke back in the second set but Zheng has edged ahead again and if she keeps her cool, she'll be making the Wimbledon headlines by the end of the day.
1750 Williams has emerged triumphant from the battle of the former champions having crushed Mauresmo 6-1 in the second set. I think the Frenchwoman's decline is picking up speed and you wonder if she might call it quits soon.
1740 Zheng breaks again to lead 2-1 and the top seed is surely staring defeat in the face. To be honest this is another below-par performance from Ivanovic and her opponent is going for the kill.
1735 Ashley McLeish has got back in touch to talk about our discussion about the reasons why so many players fail to break serve while leading 0-40. He says: "My personal opinion is that is down to two things - the first as you mentioned is that a player with the opportunity to break may fear losing that chance. The second is that when players of this level are backed into a corner so to speak, they generally come out fighting and gain that extra bit of focus/concentration that enables them to claw it back. So often in the situation you described does a player that is 0-40 down somehow find a few serves that are really well-placed, powerful, or a combination of the two."
1730 Ivanovic is having a torrid time out on Court 1. Having struggled through her prevous matches she now finds herself a set down against Zheng, who incredibly took it 6-1. We'll now concentrate on that one for now.
1720 It's all over for Berdych, as we feared it might be, after Verdasco finished off a rather one-sided clash 6-0 in the third set. I doubt many would want to face the Spanish 22nd seed after that performance.
1715 Williams edged a hard-fought tiebreak 7-5 and now leads Mauresmo 1-0 in sets and you'd have to say the American is heading for the last 16 at SW19. One seed who isn't, however, is Bartoli, who has just lost her clash with Mattek 6-4 6-1. Oh, we must not forget to mention Hungary's Agnes Szavay after she also won earlier in three sets against Anabel Medina Garrigues.
1708 The third favourite with the bookies to win the women's title is Ana Ivanovic and she's now in action against Jie Zheng on Court 1. We'll keep you posted on any interesting developments there.
1705 Anyway back to this gripping encounter on Centre Court which has now gone to a tiebreak. Full marks to Mauresmo for digging deep after the early blip and you just have to wonder what a victory will do for her confidence and morale.
1700 Geoff Dennis agrees about the mental challenge of breaking serve while leading 0-40 - I'm glad someone else noticed it. Maybe we could all make a killing on in-game betting once a player has lost the first of three break points! Not sure I'll put my money where my mouth is!
1655 Radwanska has completed an easy 6-3 6-2 win over Pavlyuchenkova to progress into the fourth round. Elsewhere Bartoli is struggling against Mattek having dropped the opening set while in the men's event it looks like Berdych is heading out. The Czech is now two sets down against Verdasco and has his work cut out on Court 2.
1648 Hewitt fans out there will be delighted to know he's got through fairly comfortably against Bolelli after winning the third-set tiebreak 7-2. Could this be his year again?
1645 Now I have this theory about the mental challenge of breaking serves in big matches and this pair have just proved it right - well, kind of. If you're leading 0-40 against the serve but don't win the first break, you'll more often than not be taken to deuce. It must be something to do with feeling that your chance to break is slipping away. It's uncanny how many times it happens - keep a look out. On this occasion Mauresmo worked her way into a 0-40 position but then proceeded to throw them all away! My theory doesn't cover what happens next however, and fortunately for Mauresmo she did end up winning the next two points. Anyway let me know what you think of this theory - am I right or talking absolute nonsense! It does certainly apply to close matches where breaks are priceless.
1640 Dear oh dear. Just when Mauresmo forced her way back into her match with Williams by breaking serve, she self destructed in the next game. A catastrophic and rather embarrassing error at the net gave the American a chance to regain the initiative and it's one she took to lead 4-2.
1637 A tiebreak is needed on Court 1 as Hewitt looks to close out his match with Bolelli. I've talked up the Aussie's chances so he better not fluff it up now.
1632 A polite, if a tad patronising, cheer greets Mauresmo's first game of the set and you get the impression that everyone knows the difficulty she's having in her career at the moment.
1630 Elsewhere the Eastbourne champion and 14th seed Agnieszka Radwanska has won the first set in her clash with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova while in the men's draw 11th seed Tomas Berdych is trailing Fernando Verdasco, seeded 22, by a set to nil.
1625 It's been a topsy-turvey start on Centre Court where Williams quickly surged into a 2-0 lead against a sluggish Mauresmo. The Frenchwoman then responded to earn two break points of her own in the next game but couldn't find the killer instinct so it's now 3-0.
1622 As always keep sending me your emails to christopher.hammer@bskyb.com and I'll continue to publish the best ones.
1620 We're under way on Centre Court for arguably the most intruiging women's match of the day as Amelie Mauresmo meets Serena Williams. The former winners are both desperate to progress to the fourth round having each endured a pretty disappointing season so far, but which one will do it? Stay here to find out.
1615 Hewitt continues to scurry around court and never appears to tire. Playing him must be so frustrating because it's so hard to get a winner past him - just ask his opponent Bolelli. It's 4-3 to the Australian in the third set and this one will be over soon.
1605 This happens every year doesn't it? Nobody has an ounce of the required quality to stand up to the Fed Express on grass and by the time he reaches the business end of the tournament his momentum is just unstoppable. Can anyone stop him? Will he ever lose another game at Wimbledon? We probably said the same thing about Pete Sampras but look who effectively ended his reign in 2001.
1600 Federer marches on after winning the third set against Gicquel 6-1 and it was almost faultless - apart from being broken in the first game of the match.
1558 Well Geoff, what about Hewitt? I know a lot of people think his best days are in the past but on this evidence there is a chance he can roll back the years. He's all over Bolelli on Court 1 and he made the second set look almost as easy as the first in taking it 6-3.
1550 Geoff Dennis asks: "Just wondering what people think about Rafa's chances this year of dethroning Roger Federer - let's face it no one else will come close to breaking the monopoly." Well on his performance this afternoon he's quite simply unstoppable on grass even when he's just about in second gear.
1541 I doubt many people backed Gicquel to spring a surprise today but if you did, you've wasted your money. Federer has polished off the second set 6-3 and in about 30 minutes time he'll have his feet up in the players' lounge contemplating a job well done. He's hardly broken sweat so won't even need a shower.
1540 Last year's runner-up Marion Bartoli is out on Court 11 now for her third-round clash against Bethanie Mattek of America. The French woman has made a steady start by winning the opening game of the match.
1530 Back to this afternoon's action and I must say Federer seems so cool, calm and collected out on court. Then again he's strolled through so many of these early round matches that there can't be anything for him to worry about. The world number one is in full control of this encounter and leads 4-3 and a break up in the second set.
1524 Gareth Humpheys is also a big Marat Safin fan and agrees with the earlier thoughts of Michael Meyer that the big-serving Russian could seize the title a week on Sunday. He says: "Safin, if he wants to play tennis on that particular day, could beat anyone but on the other hand I could probably beat him on one of his off days. I especially would like to see Marat go all the way as I got him at 500/1 at the start of the tournament. Don't ask me why I did it because I don't know. Lets hope I'll have more luck with this than the Sharapova/Djokovic double that I thought was a good idea!" To be honest if you'd told be about the latter bet at the start of the tournament I would have given you at least half a chance. Keep your thoughts coming in to christopher.hammer@bskyb.com
1519 Kuznetsova has given Strycova the run around on Court 2 and looks thoroughly satisfied after claiming a routine 6-3 6-4 triumph. She's a strong competitor and I can see no reason why she couldn't go all the way to the final. And as we thought might happen the talented Chakvetadze has also just this moment booked her place in the last 16 courtesy of her 6-4 6-3 triumph over Rodina.
1512 As Federer gets his act together against Gicquel on Centre Court, taking the first set 6-3, Hewitt has also raced into a 1-0 set lead over Bolelli but the Australian made it look a lot easier by winning it 6-1.
1505 In the women's event Vaidisova didn't take long to breeze into the fourth round following the earlier rain interuption. The 18th seed Czech has wrapped up a 6-2 6-4 victory over Dellacqua while Chakvetadze is set to join her as she leads Rodina 5-2 in the second set.
1455 Over on the other show court, Lleyton Hewitt is proving too strong Simone Bolelli and currently holds a 3-1 lead. It perhaps should have been 4-0 but the gritty Bolelli dug deep to fend off two break points and get on the scoresheet.
1450 Blaine Stewart is still upset about Sharapova's demise. He says: "I cannot believe Sharapova has gone out! The highlight of my week has been watching her on the net at work! I would like Lleyton Hewitt to win, but i can't see past Federer or Nadal at all!" I hope your work don't realise what you've been doing with your time - effectively being paid to watch Sharapova. Maybe it serves you right that she's out.
1445 The Swiss ace is back on terms having converted a second break point on Gicquel's serve. Perhaps the underdog got a little bit excited and looked as though he was rushing his shots in attempt to seize control. In the end it's more a case of normal service resumed.
1440 It's a shaky start for Federer as France's Gicquel, ranked outside the world's top 50, breaks serve in the first game of the match. Surely not another shock - although this would be the size of a devastating earthquake.
1435 Within the space of a few minutes the sun has actually come out to brighten up the day and with the players out on all courts, we're finally ready to resume with the action.
1430 The good news is the rain has stopped and the covers are off so play should resume shortly. It's still a bit miserable with dark clouds above and it's definitely not the weather for strawberries and cream.
1425 Michael Meyer says: "I think the dark horse for the championship is Marat Safin. On his day he can beat anybody, on his bad day he's his own worst enemy. I think the great win over Novak Djokovic will give him confidence, and we all know what he is capable of. How awesome would it be if we have a non Federer-Nadal winner of Slam (excluding Novak's Austalia win). It's time for a new hero. Go Safin Go! Andy Murray still has many years left in him. He's only 21!" I agree a new winner of Wimbledon would be most welcome and if Safin did go all the way it would be similar to Goran Ivanisevic's great triumph in 2001 - in terms of a firey crowd favourite upsetting the odds. Who else would like to see something like that?! Email in to christopher.hammer@bskyb.com
1420 I seem to be getting more emails during rain intervals than I do when there's actually matches in play! But it's certainly better that way and I encourage you all to send in your thoughts because these are the two weeks of the year where tennis really takes the centre stage on the British sporting calender.
1412 Colin Blackett, who I remember from yesterday's clockwatch, has got in touch with us again to raise several interesting points. He believes Roddick's downfall this year was his poor approach shots because he countlessly allowed himself to be lobbed or passed during both of his matches - but most crucially against the impressive Tipsarevic yesterday. You're right, he may well be trying to add variety to his game, but you've got to make sure your good at it! I think we'll agree Roddick "needs to go back to his A game back in 2003". Colin also thought Sharapova had it coming having watched her match against Foretz on Tuesday - "She wasn't moving well and didn't have any rhythm and nearly let her opponent back in to that game." Finally he agrees with Ashley, who emailed in earlier, that the winner is likely to be either Federer or Nadal. However Colin also thinks Tommy Haas is looking food and says "Gasquet's backhand is a joy to watch". Keep all your emails coming in to christopher.hammer@bskyb.com.
1400 Any top player reading this from the comforts of their hotel rooms or posh rented apartments better look away now because Victor from Ghana is predicting more shocks! He says: "I believe this year's Wimbledon will be full of surprises and just like Andy Roddick's and Maria Sharapova's early elimination, we may also see other big names falling out soon." Victor doesn't think Andy Murray will win it this year but maintains he's better than Tim Henman or Greg Rusedski. Only time will tell if the Scot can go further than Henman's best of the semi-finals here at SW19.
1350 During this rain break I've at least been entertained by your emails so I'll share the pick of them with you all...
1330 Just when I was about to tell you the rain had stopped and the covers were off, guess what happened? The heavens opened again and we're back to square one.
1310 Four days had passed with no weather problems so I guess one rain delay was due. We'll let you know as soon as play is about to resume. In the meantime please email in your thoughts on this year's Wimbledon and any other issues surrounding tennis at the moment. The address you need is christopher.hammer@bskyb.com.
1300 I shouldn't laugh but one of the ball boys helping to take down the net before the covers can be brought on to Court 2 has embarrassingly slipped over, much to the amusement of the crowd - but I think he's alright! The rain has obviously got heavier and all play has been suspended.
1255 Quickly back to the action and Kuznetsova is now sitting pretty at 2-0 in the second set having taken the first 6-2. On Court 18 Vaidisova is hurtling towards the fourth round as she's now a break up in the second set.
1247 Ashley McLeish has sent us a cracking email, which stokes several debates. Firstly he gives Murray "no chance" of winning Wimbledon because Federer and Nadal are just "much more powerful" in their shot making. He says: "Sure he can get about the court well enough, but when it comes down to it the top two guys just have way too much. Murray is not ready." Ashley is also adamant Federer is the superior player to Nadal, despite the developing opinion that the tables have now turned. And before you all mention the head-to-head record, Ashley has this to say: "They only play each other once on grass a year and Federer has won the last four US Opens, and three of the last five Australian Opens. Nadal? Best he has managed is one semi in Australia. Take away clay court games, of which there are much more, and the reality is that Federer is just awesome." If you want to respond to this, or make any other comments, please do email me at christopher.hammer@bskyb.com.
1242 Kuznetsova is defying the light drizzle to put all the pressure on Strycova and it's no surprise to see her break serve for the second successive time. It's all going the fourth seed's way and you can understand why she wants to stay out on court.
1240 I think I've put the kiss of death on today's weather already! Having predicted a full day of play about 30 minutes ago, the covers have now been pulled over the show courts! I won't pursue a career in weather forecasting after all. That said the three women's singles matches on the outside courts are still playing on.
1236 Vaidisova has indeed wrapped up the first set 6-2 against Dellacqua while Kuznetsova has broken Strycova's serve to take the initiative in the first set, which is now 4-2.
1232 Chakvetadze survived a break point in the fifth game to move into a 3-2 advantage over Rodina but already a few warning signs for the number eight seed so it seems.
1230 Currently in action Kuznetsova is off to a steady start on Court 2. It's so far going with serve at 3-2 in the Russian's favour against Strycova while on Court 18 the 18th seed Nicole Vaidisova is flying against Casey Dellacqua - she's two breaks up in the first set to open up a 5-2 lead.
1215 As always we want to hear all your views about these championships or indeed the wider issues surrounding the game. Who do you think is going to win Wimbledon, what's gone wrong with the likes of Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick, could Andy Murray end Britain's long wait for a winner or is it going to end in frustration again? Email me at christopher.hammer@bskyb.com as I'll publish the best ones.
1205 Play is just about to get under way across the outside courts and arguably the biggest of these games is fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova's clash against Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova. Also the talented Russian Anna Chakvetadze faces Evgeniya Rodina on Court 11. We'll keep you posted on all the major developments.
1200 As the crowds continue to flood through the gates at the All England Club they'll be pleased to see a bit of sun shining through and although there's plenty of thick clouds hovering, we are still expecting another full day of action - let's just hope it's as gripping as the rest of the week.
1145 Welcome to our coverage of day five of Wimbledon 2008 and hopefully there will be yet more drama and excitement for us to enjoy. Yesterday of course we had a couple of huge shocks with Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick exiting at the second-round stage while British number one Andy Murray delighted the home crowd by sailing through his match against Xavier Malisse. Up first on Centre Court at 1300 BST we have the master of the grass Roger Federer taking on French challenger Marc Gicquel for a place in the fourth round while over on Court 1 at the same time Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 champion, faces Simone Bolelli. The pick of the women's action sees former champions Serena Williams and Amelie Mauresmo meeting on Centre, with both hoping to get back to their best form, while top seed Ana Ivanovic plays Jie Zheng knowing she must perform better than in her win over Nathalie Dechy.
