Federer ready to weather the Rainmaker
| By Kevin Fylan LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer''s path to a record 15th grand slam title will look reassuringly familiar provided he can tame the Rainmaker in Wednesday''s quarter-finals. Ivo Karlovic, 2.08m tall and the son of a meteorologist, has been raining down aces throughout this tournament, 137 of them in four matches. Still, the 30-year-old Croat will hold few fears for second seed Federer, who has won eight of their nine matches to date, including two this season and one at Wimbledon back in 2004. It will be a huge surprise if Federer is not facing Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals as the 22-year-old Serb faces 31-year-old German Tommy Haas in a clash of two generations. In the other half of the draw, Andy Murray will expect to deal wildcard Juan Carlos Ferrero out of the hand, while the patched-up Lleyton Hewitt will throw everything his body has left at his old rival Andy Roddick. There is nothing there to worry Federer unduly on grass, not even the Murraymania inspired by the home hope''s five-set win under the roof Monday. Federer, who won five Wimbledons in a row before losing to Rafa Nadal in that epic final last year, is a class apart on this surface. His record against Murray is not good -- the Scot leads 6-2 on head-to-head -- and Djokovic has also beaten him twice this year but Federer will be soothed by the memory of beating both of them on his way to the U.S. Open title in 2008. Federer, 27, had the perfect preparation for Karlovic -- in the quarter-finals of the grand slam for the first time -- with a match against Robin Soderling Monday. "It did turn into a bit of a serving contest against Soderling," said Federer, who has dropped just one set so far. "Not many rallies, so maybe not as much fun for the people." It may be a similar story against Karlovic Wednesday but the other quarter-final in Federer''s half is an intriguing one. UNDER THE RADAR Djokovic has slipped under the radar this year, improving steadily with each match but attracting little attention. He should be the overwhelming favorite against Haas but the German beat him on grass in the Halle final and in seeing off Igor Andreev in straight sets Monday he gave a reminder of what a danger he can be when free of injury. Playing classic serve and volley, he looked in great form, though fourth seed Djokovic has the skill and self-belief to see him off. Continued... |