Federer v Ferrero - Live!

Second set: *Federer leads Fererro 7-6, 3-3 "Let's have some proper GU Sports Live! journalism, like how many sports stars are linked to chocolates?" says Gary Naylor. OK. "Ferrero of these pastures obviously, and a mile or two west, there's John Terry. And then there's Mademoiselle Golovin's Snickers." Um, John Daley Milk?

Second set: Federer leads Fererro* 7-6, 2-3 Neither player is being particularly bothered on their serves, that first game of the set apart. Again Fererro sticks to the back of the court and the tactic works out.

Second set: *Federer leads Fererro 7-6, 2-2 Ferrero smacks a return high into the sky on the first point, the wind is blowing around here, and I that probably had something to do with his misjudgment. It sets the tone for the game anyway, which Federer wins easily.

Second set: Federer leads Fererro* 7-6, 1-2 Unsurprisingly for a clay-courter, Ferrero looks best when he stays on the baseline and he does so in that game, a few big groundstrokes win that game to 15.

Second set: *Federer leads Fererro 7-6, 1-1 Federer hits one magnificent forehand flashing past Fererro . The Spaniard was in a decent position, but there was nothing he could do about it. A huge smash seals the game.

Second set: Federer leads Fererro* 7-6, 0-1 How will Fererro react to that? The champion had looked pretty shaky last night, and Fererro had a chance to break early on, but wasted it and was never in the tiebreak. There's a wobble early on in the game, when Ferrero double-faults, and in continues as he lets his opponent back into the game from 40-15 down. Again he draws Federer into a long rally, but he freaks out when the Swiss comes into the net and sends the ball long. A Hawkeye decision eventually hands him the game.

First set tie break: Federer *7-2 Fererro: Ferrero tries to rescue the tie break, but rushes things and smacks easy returns too long, too often. Federer finishes things off with an ace.

First set tie break: Federer *4-1 Fererro: A disdinaful backhand brings up a mini-break for Federer and he then collects both points on his service.

First set: Federer 6-6 Fererro*: Typical brilliance from Federer in the last game, recovering from pressure aftert he first point to see out the game. That's why he's the best. Well, there's a few other reasons obviously, but that's one of them. A 27-shot rally breaks out mid-game suits Ferrero who forces Federer to parry into the net, and rescues him from 15-30 down. Federer gets a set point after a winner down the line, but Ferrero battles back to take the game.

First set: *Federer 6-5 Fererro: Federer smacks a simple forehand into the net on the first point of the day to give Ferrero a break point, but Federer follows it up with two aces and then takes the game after a Ferrero error.

Preamble: This should be easy for Federer - he's got an 8-3 record over Fererro (one of those victories was a straight sets spanking here a couple of years back) is - as you might have noticed - invincible on grass and has had a few days off to enjoy the sunny surroundings of south-west London. But, and there's always a but, Ferrero has been getting stronger as the tournament has gone on. He was lucky not to lose in the first round, coming back from two sets down against Hajek, won in four sets in the next two rounds and then cantered through in three against Tipsarevic.

And wasn't Federer looking a bit creaky last night? Did whole afternoons in front of Jasper Carrott's Goldenballs destroy his concentration. There was a definite hiccup when he failed to close out the set. Still, I reckon it's Federer to win in three.