Fed shows his mettle

Roger Federer was two points away from following Rafael Nadal out of Wimbledon last night before staging a thrilling fightback to beat Julien Benneteau on Centre Court.

Wimbledon was still coming to terms with Nadal’s shock second-round exit as Federer took to the court, but the Swiss player ran into trouble as his French opponent claimed a formidable two-set lead.

Nadal, a finalist in the last five years he has played, was dumped out by unknown Lukas Rosol late on Thursday, blowing the bottom half of the men’s draw wide open.