Six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer dropped his first set of the tournament before coming back to beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Monday and reach the quarterfinals.
Federer was leading 4-1 in the first set tiebreaker but Youzhny earned four points in a row and won it 7-5.
The third-seeded Swiss was error-prone throughout, but Youzhny could only take advantage of one of his seven break points. The 18th-seeded Russian saved two match points but went long on a third to give Federer victory.
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“I forgot completely (the 29th quarterfinal) was on the line to be quite honest, especially once you’re in the heat of the moment, of the battle,” said Federer, who also won his 100th match on grass. “I thought I played a good match overall.”
Federer will next face No. 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who beat No. 7 David Ferrer 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (1).