Wimbledon 2008: Normal Service Resumed As Federer Cruises to Third Round Victory

After two days of Wimbledon upsets, it was left to Roger Federer to steady this year's championships - cruising to a straight sets win over Marc Gicquel on Center Court. His one moment of peril came in the opening game when he was stung by two beefy forehands and promptly dropped his serve. From then on the champion was rarely troubled.

Federer won 6-3 6-3 6-1 to advance to a possible fourth round meeting with the 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt. His path to a record-breaking sixth consecutive title looks to have been eased by Wednesday's defeat of the third seed Novak Djokovic, his prospective semi-final opponent. The highest seed in his half of the draw is now the No5 seed David Ferrer, a clay-court specialist, although dark horses such as Marat Safin, Marcos Baghdatis or Mario Ancic may yet fancy their chances.

The 31-year-old Gicquel produced some crisp serves and numerous clubbing forehands, but crucially ran out of steam. Having rallied from two sets down to win his second round match, he had little energy left when he stepped out to face the champion. By the third set the Frenchman was clearly struggling to reach the wide balls as Federer moved him from side to side with contemptuous ease.

The match was over in just 81 minutes. This, coupled with an early rain delay, ensured that Federer was the first man to reach the last 16 and now has three days of rest. By contrast, the exhausted, whey-faced Gicquel may need even longer to recover.