Federer oldest to Wimbledon 3rd round since ’75

Tennis

LONDON — Roger Federer became the oldest man to reach the third round at Wimbledon in 46 years, winning every service game Thursday to extend his winning streak against Richard Gasquet to 11 matches, 7-6 (1), 6-1, 6-4.

“I was really happy with my performance,” Federer told the crowd.

He turns 40 next month. Ken Rosewall was 40 when he made a run to the fourth round in 1975.

Federer improved to 19-2 against Gasquet and has won all five of their Grand Slam meetings in straight sets.

He’s bidding for his ninth Wimbledon title and his 21st major championship, which would break the men’s record he shares with Rafael Nadal.

Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev dispatched promising 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.

After the match, Medvedev, a two-time Grand Slam finalist who has never made it past the third round at Wimbledon, predicted his opponent will soon be a top-10 player.

Alcaraz has drawn similar praise from Nadal, his countryman, and made the third round at the French Open this year. He was playing Wimbledon for the first time after being given a wild card.

Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev rode his powerful serve into the third round, beating American Tennys Sandgren 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.

The German lost only five points on his serve in the first two sets, then saved the only break point he faced with a backhand winner down the line when leading 2-1 in the third. Zverev broke again in the final game when Sandgren netted a forehand.

Zverev reached the US Open final in 2020 and the semifinals at the recent French Open but has never been past the round of 16 at Wimbledon.

Former US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori lost 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to Jordan Thompson of Australia.

Cameron Norrie reached the third round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Alex Bolt as Britain — with Andy Murray and Dan Evans also advancing — has three men into the third round of Wimbledon for the first time in 22 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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