Federer rallies from 2 sets down to reach 4th round

WIMBLEDON, England — When Roger Federer found himself down two sets and staring at an early exit from Wimbledon, the crowd at Centre Court thought back to the stunning upset that took place there a day earlier and wondered if it was witnessing a repeat.

Federer was thinking back, too, but his flashbacks had nothing to do with Rafael Nadal. It was the scenario Federer remembered, though, that ended up repeating itself.

“Having been there so often, down two sets to love, knowing how to handle the situation (was key),” Federer said.

He proved that again, as the six-time Wimbledon champion overcame a two-set hole for the eighth-time, beating Julien Benneteau of France 4-6, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-1 Friday in the third round. With the comeback, he narrowly avoided following Nadal out of Wimbledon after the Spanish two-time winner was stunned by 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol on Thursday.

“The thing, when you’re down two sets to love, is to stay calm, even though it’s hard, because people are freaking out, people are worried for you,” Federer said.

Benneteau said he played perhaps the best match of his life, dictating play for much of the first two sets. Even that, though, proved insufficient against the 16-time Grand Slam winner.

“Mentally, he’s a rock. He’s two sets down and he doesn’t show anything.

DJOKOVIC RALLIES

Like Federer and Nadal, Novak Djokovic fell behind against someone he was expected to beat easily: The Serb ceded the first set, getting broken at love by No. 28 Radek Stepanek, Rosol’s Davis Cup teammate for the Czech Republic. But quick as can be, Djokovic turned things around, breaking Stepanek to begin each of the next three sets for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 victory that moved him closer to a semifinal showdown against Federer.

Once Djokovic had Stepanek’s serve-and-volley style measured, the passing winners and shoetop-high returns started flowing.

Among those moving into the fourth round on outdoor courts: Denis Istomin, the first player from Uzbekistan to make it that far at any Grand Slam tournament, No. 18 Richard Gasquet, No. 26 Mikhail Youzhny and No. 31 Florian Mayer. Unseeded American Sam Querrey, still working his way back up the rankings after right elbow surgery a year ago, finished off a suspended second-round match, eliminating No. 21 Milos Raonic of Canada 6-7 (3), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (8), 6-4.

WOMEN WINNERS

Seeded women who won included No. 1 Maria Sharapova, No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 8 Angelique Kerber and No. 15 Sabine Lisicki. Four-time major champion Kim Clijsters got through when No. 12 Vera Zvonareva, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up, quit in the second set because of what she said was a respiratory infection, while 145th-ranked qualifier Camila Giorgi of Italy defeated No. 20 Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-3, 7-6 (6)./ap