Federer express flattens Croatian giant

Wimbledon number one seed Roger Federer stormed into the quarter-finals with a straight-sets dismissal of towering Croat Ivo Karlovic on court one.

Karlovic grabbed the headlines at last year’s championships when he dumped out defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in the opening round but hopes of another giantkilling act were snuffed out by Federer.

The Swiss ace triumphed 6-3 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/5) without ever hitting top gear, although this was partly down to a gritty performance from Karlovic who refused to buckle despite facing some stunning strokes early in the second set.

Karlovic, at 6ft 10ins the tallest player inside the top 100 of the ATP rankings since 1973, showed promise early on until the sixth game when some poor serving enabled Federer to break.

Karlovic enjoyed two break points in the next game but his opponent has not dropped his serve in the championships so far and he clawed back the lost ground before clinching the set 6-3.

A dazzling rally early in the second set drew a murmur of excitement from the crowd before Federer took the point with a whipping backhand that Karlovic failed to control.

Karlovic had already counted for two seeds – Paradorn Srichaphan and Feliciano Lopez – in previous rounds but on this occasion he was struggling to claim the upper hand.

A powerful serve was proving enough to keep him in the match although the second set was finally settled by a tie-break which Federer clinched 7/3.

Karlovic made a poor start to the third set and was forced to save two break points in the second game but once those were secure, play settled down with service again.

Federer manoeuvred himself to match point in the 10th game but not for the first time Karlovic showed calmness under pressure, rescuing the situation with an unstoppable smash.

Another tie-break was required to settle the issue and when Federer banked three match points the result was beyond doubt, conceding the first two before blasting Karlovic out with a cross-court forehand on the third.