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Roger Federer moves into 14th Wimbledon quarters

By The Sports Xchange
Swiss Roger Federer returns the ball in his match against American Steve Johnson on Day seven of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships in Wimbledon, London July 04, 2016. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
1 of 3 | Swiss Roger Federer returns the ball in his match against American Steve Johnson on Day seven of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships in Wimbledon, London July 04, 2016. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

Seven-time champion Roger Federer moved into his 14th Wimbledon quarterfinals on Monday with an easy 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 win over American Steve Johnson.

Federer, playing on two days of rest on Centre Court at the All England Club in London, equaled Jimmy Connors' Open-era record. The No. 3 seed from Switzerland also added to his own mark by making it at least to the quarters at a Grand Slam tournament for the 48th time.

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The 34-year-old Federer has not dropped a set through four matches. Johnson, 26, was making his debut in the fourth round of a major.

"I would never have thought I would win the first four rounds in straight sets," Federer told the BBC after the match. "The matches may be tough, but rests are great for professional athletes -- that's huge.

"You can always lose a tournament in the first week, but never win it."

Federer will next face No. 9 Marin Cilic of Croatia, the 2014 U.S. Open champion who advanced when fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan retired from their fourth-round match. Cilic was leading 6-1, 5-1 when Nishikori, who previously had a rib injury, decided to stop the match.

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"I now need to play my best tennis. I have Marin Cilic in the next round -- he brushed me off the court in the U.S. Open a few years ago and I hope to get him back," Federer said.

American Sam Querrey, fresh from shocking world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round on Saturday, also advanced to the quarterfinals.

The 28th-seeded Querrey beat Nicolas Mahut of France 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4. Querrey is the first American man to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Mardy Fish in 2011.

On the women's side, third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland was upset by No. 19 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-3, 5-7, 9-7 in the fourth round.

No. 21 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia reached her first quarterfinal at Wimbledon by eliminating No. 27 Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-3, breaking the American five times.

Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber of Germany, the No. 4 seed, advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Misaki Doi of Japan 6-3, 6-1.

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