Roger Federer has quietly extended his record for third-round appearances at grand slam tournaments by advancing at Wimbledon along with Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori.
Despite being relegated to Court 1 due to the epic clash between Nadal and Nick Kyrgios on Thursday, the Swiss great easily prevailed 6-1 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 over British wildcard Jay Clarke to book his 70th appearance in a grand slam third round.
The 37-year-old is now also three victories away from becoming the first man to claim 100 wins at Wimbledon.
Federer was dominant in the rallies against the 20-year-old Clarke and forced his opponent to concede two breaks before serving out the first set in 28 minutes.
The 20-time grand slam champion, who has not lost in the second round since 2013, was given the chance to pull away with a two-set lead when Clarke hit the net four times before Federer cemented his advantage with an ace.
The eight-time Wimbledon champion was in full control as he surged to the finish line with two breaks and booked his third-round spot after one hour and 37 minutes.
“I really enjoyed myself. The tank is full. I came here with a lot of confidence, the first few matches haven’t been very taxing physically. You try to win your matches regardless of the score, if you win them in straights that’s better,” Federer said.
“This first week has been going well and I know the opponents in terms of ranking will now get better.”
Nadal’s dramatic clash with Kyrgios, who fired an audacious underarm ace and the second-fastest serve in history at the Spaniard, ended 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) after three hours and three minutes on Centre Court.
“When he wants to compete, he’s one of the toughest opponents you can face,” Nadal said of Kyrgios.
“It’s amazing how good he is able to play, so if he is able to forget all these things, he’s potentially a grand slam winner.”
Japanese eighth seed Nishikori needed less than two hours to beat Briton Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-4 6-0 and set up a third-round clash with Steve Johnson, who beat Alex de Minaur 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 3-6 6-3.
American ninth seed Isner, a semi-finalist last year, lost a marathon five-setter 6-4 6-7 (7-3) 4-6 6-1 6-4 to Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin.
Marcos Baghdatis, who said he would end his career after the tournament, bowed out in the second round after losing 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to Italian 17th seed Matteo Berrettini.
The emotional Cypriot received a standing ovation from the crowd at Court 2 as he kissed the grass before bursting into tears.
Portugal’s Joao Sousa also reached the third round with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory over 2017 runner-up Marin Cilic.