LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Charles made a rare, if fleeting, visit to Wimbledon yesterday but lingered long enough to see Roger Federer produce another regal performance on Centre Court and move serenely into the third round.
Swiss Federer, bidding for a record-equalling seventh men’s singles title at the All England Club, aired his full repertoire of shots to outclass Fabio Fognini 6-1 6-3 6-2 in front of an appreciative Royal Box and 15,000 entranced fans. With raindrops hovering around south west London, Centre Court’s roof slid shut to enable defending champion Novak Djokovic to reach the third round with a straight-sets win over American Ryan Harrison.
Djokovic completed a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory just before 10pm local time to set up a clash with 28th seed Radek Stepanek or German Benjamin Becker, one of several matches unfinished on a day of frustrating delays. Women’s top seed Maria Sharapova was poised to follow suit but bad light halted her progress against Tsvetana Pironkova when she led 7-6 3-1 having fended off set points on Court One.
