Wimbledon 2021: 3 talking points from Roger Federer's 3r win over Cameron Norrie
Roger Federer continued his fine run of form at Wimbledon with a 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over Cameron Norrie on Saturday. The Swiss has now booked his place in the second week of the grasscourt Major, where he will face Lorenzo Sonego on Monday.
Many believed the left-handed Cameron Norrie would give Federer problems, given how the Swiss faced a difficult time against another southpaw Adrian Mannarino in the first round. But apart from a mid-match hiccup, Federer didn't face too much trouble in a win that took just over 2.5 hours.
On that note, here are three talking points from Federer's win over Norrie:
1) The first set was arguably Roger Federer's best set since his comeback
Roger Federer is usually one of the quickest players to get off the blocks, regardless of who is on the other side of the net. The Swiss likes to play aggressively from the first point in order to put pressure on the opponent, which often leads to mistakes from their racket.
Federer did exactly that against Cameron Norrie, in what was a near-flawless display in the opening set. The 39-year-old conceded just three points combined in his first five service games, winning a whopping 94% of his first-serve points.
Federer also landed 70% of his first serves, meaning he was only required to avail his second serve seven times. He won five of those points too, thus preventing Norrie from getting even a sniff of a break.
Federer decisively broke Norrie's serve in the seventh game of the set, and eventually closed it out with the help of seven winners.
2) Roger Federer again found plenty of success at the net
Roger Federer has seemingly made charging the net his Plan B at Wimbledon this year. The Swiss found tremendous success in the forecourt area against Adrian Mannarino, and he repeated the same formula against Cameron Norrie.
Federer went to the net 38 times and won the point on 30 of those occasions. That helped the Swiss unsettle Norrie's rhythm, keeping the Brit on his toes throught.
Norrie didn't have an answer to Federer's guile and variety, and ended up making a few too many errors while passing.
3) Roger Federer has become the oldest man in 46 years to reach the second week of Wimbledon
Roger Federer is into the second week at Wimbledon for the 18th time in his career. In doing so, he has become the oldest man to make it to this stage since Ken Rosewall did it 46 years ago.
Rosewall was a few months short of his 41st birthday when he made the Wimbledon fourth round in 1975. Federer, meanwhile, is a month shy of his 40th birthday right now.
But the Swiss will hope to avoid Rosewall's fate, who lost in the fourth round that year. Incidentally, the man who beat Rosewall was Federer's former coach Tony Roche.