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| Switzerland's Roger Federer waves to the crowd following his third round match against France's Marc Gicquel on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Friday, June 27, 2008. |
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Roger Federer continued his march toward a sixth straight Wimbledon title by beating Marc Gicquel in straight sets Friday, setting up a possible fourth-round matchup with the last man to win the championship before him.
After the first rain delay of the tournament, Federer overwhelmed the 53rd-ranked Frenchman 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on Centre Court for his 62nd consecutive win on grass and 37th straight at the All England Club.
The only surprise was that Federer dropped serve in the opening game. But he immediately broke back and was in control the rest of the way as he sailed to victory in 1 hour, 21 minutes.
"Again, difficult conditions, tricky opponent," Federer said. "The wind was swirling. I got down a break in the first game and had to rally back. I played really well throughout the match considering the circumstances."
Federer hasn't dropped a set so far in the tournament.
"It's always nice," he said. "Couple of days off now. Hope I play as well next week. It's important to try to keep the game where it is."
Federer's next opponent could be Lleyton Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002 - the year before the Swiss star began his run of five straight titles. Hewitt, who has been troubled by a chronic hip injury and is seeded No. 20, was playing Simone Bolelli on Court 1.
The 31-year-old Gicquel, who had never gone beyond the first round at Wimbledon, has a big serve and strong forehand but couldn't trouble Federer. Gicquel saved a set point on his own serve at 3-5, but Federer closed it out in the next game with a 129 mph ace.
On the final point of the second set, Federer whipped a forehand that left Gicquel lunging and doing the splits. Federer cruised through the third set in 20 minutes.
The match started under dark clouds after a delay of 1 hour, 41 minutes - the first time rain has affected the tournament this week.
In women's play, advancing in early third-round matches were No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 8 Anna Chakvetadze and No. 18 Nicole Vaidisova.
Two-time women's champion Serena Williams was up against 2006 winner Amelie Maursemo on Centre Court, while top-seeded Ana Ivanovic was paired on Court 1 against China's Zheng Jie.
Two of Federer's main challengers are already out of the tournament. No. 3-ranked Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open champion who had loomed as a possible semifinal opponent, was upset in the second round by Marat Safin. Two-time finalist Andy Roddick was bounced out Thursday by Janko Tipsarevic.
Roddick was in the bottom half of the draw along with No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who has lost to Federer in the last two finals.
Roddick wasn't the only big upset victim Thursday. Earlier in the day, 2004 champion Maria Sharapova was stunned 6-2, 6-4 by 154th-ranked Alla Kudryavtseva, her earliest loss in a Grand Slam tournament since her first full year on the tour in 2003.
