Grand 50 for Federer

Roger Federer won his 50th straight match on grass, needing only 11 minutes today to complete his 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 victory over...

Roger Federer won his 50th straight match on grass, needing only 11 minutes today to complete his 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 victory over 18-year-old Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina to reach the third round at Wimbledon.

The four-time defending champion, who will next face Marat Safin, had led 2-0 in the third set before rain halted play yesterday. When they resumed, the top-ranked Swiss finished off del Potro, winning three straight games before del Potro held serve in the sixth game.

8220;It was done quickly like I was hoping, but I was ready to go five sets in case,8221; said Federer, who broke the Argentine five times and saved the only break point he faced. No. 4 Novak Djokovic and No. 9 James Blake also won, while Tim Heman lost.

On the women8217;s side, former champions Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams advanced. The No. 1-seeded Federer, trying to become only the second man in the Open era to win five straight titles at the All England Club, finished with 33 winners and made only 23 errors 8212; one less than del Potro.

8220;Fifty is a great number to achieve,8221; said Federer, who is trying to match Bjorn Borg8217;s streak of five Wimbledon titles. 8220;I8217;m delighted about that but I haven8217;t won the tournament. Two-time Grand Slam champion Safin beat Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi of Pakistan 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 4 to advance.

Williams, wearing white spandex shorts instead of a usual skirt or dress, beat Hana Sromova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round in the women8217;s draw.

Sharapova advanced by beating 2006 quarterfinalist Severine Bremond of France 6-0, 6-3. The 2004 champion has shown no sign of the injured right shoulder that bothered her at the French Open. French Open finalist Ana Ivanovic also advanced to the third round, beating Meilen Tu of the United States 6-4, 6-3. The sixth-seeded Serb reached the fourth round last year.

Story continues below this ad

Also, No. 8 Anna Chakvetadze defeated Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus 6-2, 6-1, while No. 10 Daniela Hantuchova, No. 12 Elena Dementieva, No. 14 Nicole Vaidisova and No. 15 Patty Schnyder also won.

Henman was eliminated by Feliciano Lopez 7-6 3, 7-6 5, 3-6, 2-6, 6-1 in a match that started a day earlier. It was the third year in a row that Henman lost in the second round.

Wayne Arthurs, playing in the final tournament of his 17-year career and at 36 the oldest man in the starting draw, upset No. 11 Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-3, 7-6 5, 6-3. Robredo is the highest seeded player to be eliminated.

Djokovic advanced by beating Amer Delic of the USA 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 4, while Blake defeated Andrei Pavel of Romania 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 and 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt beat Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.

Story continues below this ad

No. 7 Tomas Berdych, No. 13 Tommy Haas, No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic and No. 20 Juan Carlos Ferrero also won, while No. 17 David Ferrer and No. 24 Juan Ignacio Chela lost.