Jul 27, 2005 from CNN:
GENEVA - Marc Rosset has been sacked as Switzerland's Davis Cup captain. The team no longer had the "indispensable" confidence in their 34-year-old captain, Swiss Tennis said in a statement just two months before the play-off against Britain.

Three times Wimbledon champion Roger Federer broke the news to Rosset. "The decision was taken unanimously and I explained it to Marc," Federer said. "It was motivated by internal reasons. We all have a lot of respect for Marc as a person and a top level athlete with huge achievements. He is and will remain a great personality in Swiss tennis."

from Tennis Week:
Roger Federer comes in a can next month. In a joint promotion with the ATP and Sports Authority, HEAD/Penn Racquet Sports will include a copy of Tennis Masters Cup Uncovered II: Facing Federer, the ATP’s behind-the-scenes documentary of the most recent Tennis Masters Cup, with purchase of a three-pack of Penn ATP tennis balls. Priced at $7.99, the three-pack of Penn ATP Tennis Balls will remain on sale through November.

Additionally, holiday packs — comprising an eight-pack of balls and complimentary copy of the DVD — will be sold at Sports Authority stores beginning in October. Costing $19.99, the Penn eight-packs will be on sale through December.

Jul 21, 2005 from Roger Federer Official Site:
Roger's note:

Dear fans -

Regrettably, I have to inform you that I will not participate in the Rogers Cup, the ATP Masters Series in Montreal. As you know I have been suffering from pain in my feet for the past six months. An MRI was performed after Wimbledon and the doctors advised me to rest for 4 full weeks. As this period collides with the preparation for Montreal and the tournament itself, I had to take this decision in order to ensure full recovery.

Not being able to compete and trying to defend my title from Toronto does hurt. After all, it is my birthday the first day of the tournament and I also like the province of Quebec a lot. But I am certainly looking forward to playing in Toronto next year.

See you all very soon!

Jul 13, 2005
Roger won the 13th annual ESPY Award for Best Male Tennis Player.

Jul 12, 2005 from Business Wire:
NEW YORK - 2K Sports is pleased to announce that Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova will be the official spokespersons and cover athletes for Top Spin on the PlayStation®2.

"We're thrilled to have two of the most exciting tennis players representing our game," stated Erik Whiteford, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. "Roger Federer is by far the most talented and dominant men's tennis player in the game today. Maria Sharapova's power, competitive drive and tenacity have established her as one of the most important and visible players on the women's tour. Both players exhibit the winning attitude of great tennis champions, making them a natural choice to represent the best tennis video game."

"I am honored to be chosen as the cover athlete for Top Spin," said Federer. "The game does an excellent job of capturing the intensity of tennis and combines that with incredible visuals. Simply put, fans are in for a treat as 2K Sports has done an excellent job delivering the best and most realistic tennis game."

"Being on the cover of the top tennis game in the world is something I'm very proud of," said Sharapova. "It's an honor that my hard work and achievements are being recognized in this manner. Now, everyone gets a shot to play against me - but look out, I'm bringing my 'A' game in Top Spin!"

from Davis Cup Official Site:
The International Tennis Federation and World Sports Video are pleased to announce the release of the new Video & DVD series "The Davis Cup Story". This collection covers the full international story of the Davis Cup. The largest series of its kind ever produced on the game of tennis with newly released, never before seen footage.

This unique series makes extensive use of the archives of the BBC, Movietone, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Longwood Cricket Club and many private collections. The No. 1 players of their time are seen in action and in interviews sharing their passion and emotions. Over the years nothing has inspired the world's greatest champions more than representing their countries in this spectacular team competition.

The programmes feature most Davis Cup legends over the years including Davis, Ward, Brooks, Wilding, Tilden, Lacoste, Cochet, Borotra, Austin, Crawford, Quist, Vines, Budge, Perry, Kramer, Sedgman, McGregor, Trabert, Seixas, Hoad, Rosewall, Emerson, Pietrangeli, Fraser, Laver, Newcombe, Roche, Alexander, Ashe, Smith, Nastase, Borg, McEnroe, Vilas, Cash, Fitzgerald, Becker, Edberg, Noah, Forget, Agassi, Sampras, Martin, Rafter, Hewitt, Philippoussis, Federer, Kafelnikov, Roddick, Kuerten etc.

Jul 11, 2005 from Reuters:
GENEVA - With seven years to go, Wimbledon champion Roger Federer is already setting his sights on a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Having won his third successive title at the All England Club this month, Federer celebrated again after hearing that Olympic tennis was heading to his favourite venue.

"He phoned up from his holiday as soon as he heard that London had got the Games," Federer's mother Lynette told Reuters. "He was so thrilled. He was saying 'Mum, can you imagine having the Olympics at Wimbledon?' I tried to calm him down a bit by asking how old he would be in 2012. But we worked out that he'd be only 30 so it's certainly possible. He even said that he might be able to win the Olympic gold medal at Wimbledon and then retire."

from Roger Federer Official Site:
A Short Note from Roger:

Dear fans

I am only slowly starting to realise what I have achieved these past days. It is hard to believe this is all happening to me - a feeling I even had during the final in Wimbledon. I was standing on the court, playing the tennis of my life, even a bit amazed myself. It was as though I was watching the match from high above the stadium, saying to myself: "geez, there's that guy Federer in the final again - AND he's winning it - again"...

Jul 10, 2005 from South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
By Charles Bricker - I loved Pete Sampras' guts and pure confidence on the court and am still not convinced that Roger Federer could beat him if both were at the top of their games at Wimbledon.

In fact, there wasn't much I didn't like about Pete, though there was one thing: He was an interview recluse, a man who was talkative enough in his postmatch news conferences but who wasn't available to reporters in a one-on-one situation unless you carried credentials from ESPN or Sports Illustrated. Even if you knew more about tennis and could talk tennis more intelligently than anyone who worked for those two high-profile media giants, there was no entree to Sampras. He was, as his agent liked to tell reporters, unavailable.

But now Federer ... vive la difference. He's not going to cut short a beachfront vacation to take your call, but he is so natural, so genuine and so down to earth that it is impossible not to admire him in ways you couldn't admire Sampras.

A few days before the Wimbledon final, I ventured into the players' cafeteria, where Federer was at the salad bar, picking at strands of lettuce and plucking tomatoes into his bowl. There ensued a short conversation about grazing. "I love salad. Any kind of salads," he said. I explained to him that in the United States, when we have salads, it's called grazing, as cows do in pastures. "Grazing," he repeated, amused. "OK." He filed that away in his list of American idioms, which might come in handy in the coming weeks, when he arrives in the United States to work up to the U.S. Open.

And then, the day after he won his third straight Wimbledon, Federer invited reporters to his rented home in Wimbledon for breakfast, and to sit and chat, about anything, much the same as he did the day after he won the 2004 U.S. Open. That never happened with Sampras. In fact, the idea of Sampras asking reporters to his rented home would have been laughable.

Jul 9, 2005 from Tennis News:
Roger Federer was at the center of an international battle to get his attention and his attendance to play in either Europe or the US Open Series. The European tournaments, Gstaad, Stuttgart , Kitzbuhel and Sopot desperately wanted him to play in those clay court tournaments. There was talk of a $1 million inducement for him to stay in Europe and play.

The USA wanted him to participate in the events that are part of the US Open Series. Those are Indianapolis , Los Angeles , Washington DC, Montreal , Cincinnati and New Haven . US Open bonus money is to be earned by based on high performance playing in the Series.

Jul 8, 2005 from ATP Insider:
Roger Federer was a busy man after winning a third consecutive Wimbledon title on Sunday. That same night he spent two hours with the press doing one on one TV interviews with the BBC, DRS (SUI), SRG (SUI), RTL5 (NED), SKY Sports (ITA), ART (Middle East), ESPN (USA), ESPN Sur (Latin America), CNN, SKY (UK), Fox (AUS). He also made time for feature stories with Sports Illustrated and The New York Times . On Monday morning the Swiss star was all over the breakfast shows and news bulletins on British TVs and radios, starting with a live guest appearance on GMTV with Andrew Castle on ITV and then BBC Radio 5. He also did live and taped interviews with SKY, CNN, DRS and BBC as well as a round-table interview with the print media. From there it was a trip home to Basel, where on Monday evening, Federer stepped onto the balcony of the town hall and found over 3,000 fans waiting for him. Local politicians gave speeches and presented Federer with a work of art. FC Basel players, with whom Federer has trained, gave the World's No. 1 a pair of golden soccer shoes.

Following Sunday's Wimbledon final, ALAN MILLS ended his 23-year tenure as the tournament referee, and he was honored by ATP CEO MARK MILES and three-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer. Federer presented Mills with a racquet.

Jul 7, 2005 from ATP:
Roger Federer has clinched his place in the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, once again setting a new mark for the earliest announced qualification for the year-end championship. It will be the two-time defending Tennis Masters Cup champion's fourth consecutive appearance in the year-end finale, which will be held at the Qi Zhong stadium in Shanghai on November 13-20, 2005.

"It's a great feeling to know that I have already qualified for Shanghai," said Federer. "I want to defend my title, it's one of my goals this year. I remember playing the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai in 2002; it was my debut in the tournament as part of the best eight players in the world. The crowds were fantastic, I love playing in Asia and I look forward to November."

The Swiss superstar set an unprecedented benchmark in 2004 after he became the earliest qualifier in the history of the tournament when it was announced on August 3 that he had qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup Houston. The Swiss already has 910 Race points this year – more than the 887 he had going into last year's US Open – and is on course to overhaul his total in 2004, when he finished No. 1 with 1267.

from Roger Federer Official Site:
Words from Roger:

Dear fans

What an amazing period of time! These last days have been like one big dream, going from one terrific moment to the next. After my victory in Wimbledon I spent two hours with the largest sports media giving interviews. On Monday morning, after about 2 hours sleep, I was all over the breakfast shows and news bulletins and also did a round-table interview with the print media.

from LTA Tennis Nation:
The LTA teamed up with Tim Henman, Roger Federer and Britain’s favourite kids magazine The Beano to help promote Ariel Mini Tennis. The unlikely partnership crosses over two issues and hopes to drive interest in Mini Tennis amongst the comic’s readership of kids aged 7-10 years old.

The special summer issue sees Henman and Federer save the day when evil Otto tries to steal thousands of pounds raised at a charity auction from General Jumbo. The tennis stars stir up even more racket on centre court in the summer issue which went on sale on 2nd July.

The original chromalin proof of the comic strip, signed by Henman and Federer, is the only item of its kind and is being auctioned on Ebay. The proceeds will be split equally and go to Tim's charity, Kids At Heart, and Roger's charity, the Roger Federer Foundation.

from GameDaily:
Sega announced today the lineup of tennis pros being featured in the upcoming Virtua Tennis: World Tour. This roster will include Lindsay Davenport, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Andy Roddick and Wimbledon champions Roger Federer and Venus Williams. If those personalities weren't enough, the game will also include a make-your-own player mode. Virtua Tennis: World Tour will release exclusively on PSP in Fall 2005.

from Telegraph:
Roger Federer's supremacy was such that Jimmy Connors was moved to say he reminded him of his old nemesis, Bjorn Borg. "Nothing rattles him," Connors said. "Sometimes I wonder if he has a pulse out there."

Andy Roddick can be proud of his resilience in a straight-sets defeat - at least it took one hour and 41 minutes (excluding rain break). The shortest men's final on record lasted a mere 37 minutes, when W C Renshaw beat J T Hartley 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in 1881.

Jul 6, 2005 from The Miami Herald:
Lance Armstrong is a big fan of tennis champion Roger Federer -- even though he keeps beating Andy Roddick. Federer won his third straight Wimbledon title Sunday, defeating Roddick in a performance that drew Armstrong's admiration.

''For the second year in a row he beat a good friend of mine, Andy Roddick,'' Armstrong said Monday after finishing in 87th place in the third stage of the Tour de France. ''What can I say? You know, clearly he is one of the best in tennis,'' Armstrong said. ''Some say he could be the best player of all time on all surfaces. He has totally a complete game: A good serve, can play from the net, everything. He's awesome.''

Jul 5, 2005 from Herald Sun:
Tony Roche used Australia's cricketers as a motivational masterstroke in Roger Federer's rampant Wimbledon victory. As the Swiss maestro is a big fan of the Australian team, Roche and Federer spent the eve of the final watching the tied Natwest one-dayer against England at Lord's on TV.

And then, with Federer's anxiety levels soaring before the final with Andy Roddick, Roche ushered Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Jason Gillespie into the hallowed Wimbledon changerooms. The distracting ploy worked as Federer advanced to a regal 6-2, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory.

"He loves the Aussies and the boys came into the dressing room just before the match," Roche said. "Five minutes before he went on, he was still talking to them. I guess for 10 minutes they were there. Which is good to take his mind a little bit off the match and he loves cricket. It was so good that those guys came in."

Federer's interest in cricket stems from his South African mother, Lynette, and his connection with South Australian coach Peter Carter. The Federer family almost moved to Australia from Switzerland 12 years ago when his father, Robert, was offered a job in Sydney. Carter, who was killed in 2002, secured a place for Federer in the SA training squad, but finally the family stayed in Switzerland.

from Telegraph:
Sitting at the breakfast table in Roger Federer's rented house, just a topspin forehand or two from the wrought-iron gates of the All England Club, it was almost inevitable that the conversation yesterday morning would eventually turn to fantasy matches, players from different generations meeting on Wimbledon's Centre Court.

The Swiss had on Sunday become only the third man in the Open era to win three successive Wimbledon titles, joining Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras. How would Federer have fared against an in-form Borg? Would he have defeated Sampras when he was at the height of his powers? What everyone wanted to know was who, in Federer's opinion, was the finest grasscourt player of modern times?

Unfortunately, and undoubtedly very sensibly too, Federer did not offer any strong opinions. He did not claim that he would have beaten Borg in straight sets, or that he would have smoked winner after winner past Sampras. Federer is far too polite, far too modest, for that. "I think those matches would be interesting. Anything could happen," Federer said, leaving the questions still hanging in the air.

And perhaps Federer was also a little jaded, having slept for only two hours after returning from the champions' dinner and then continuing the celebrations back at the house. Federer, though, sounded intelligent and eloquent when talking about his career in isolation. He is something special on and off the court, a player without any pretence or bombast, but he did acknowledge that his talent puts him up there with the best from the history books.

from The Mirror:
Roger Federer blew apart his ice-cool image by revealing he celebrated his Wimbledon hat-trick by going on an all-night bender. The usually mild-mannered Swiss genius went to the traditional champions' dinner - then continued boozing at his apartment until the wee hours. He had reason to celebrate after playing "the match of his life" to beat Andy Roddick in straight sets for his third title in a row.

Federer said: "I got back quite late after the champions' dinner and had a few drinks back at my apartment - I had about two hours' sleep. I had a really good time with my closest friends, my coach and parents. My girlfriend was there too."

"But I got up all fresh on Monday morning - I couldn't believe it! Just kidding. I am very tired after it all. It seems like this title feels better, but it hasn't really sunk in yet because I played such a great match. It was the match of my life really."

Federer will take a five-week break before his next tournament in Montreal. But he left for his holiday with a chilling warning tor his opponents.

Jul 4, 2005 from Roger Federer Official Site:
Usually the market place in the center of Basel is a quiet place except for two occasions: the annual carneval or the celebrations for Basel's soccer club (FCB). Well, since yesterday there is something to add to the list: Roger's fans celebrating their champion.

As Roger stepped onto the balcony of the town hall just after 18.30 yesterday evening he found over 3'000 fans cheering and clapping in delight. A huge wave of enthusiasm went through town and even red and blue batons (the colours of the FCB) were lit. Local politicians held speeches and handed Roger a work of art. FCB players gave Roger a pair of golden soccer shoes (Roger is a big FCB fan and has even joined a training with the first team).

from AAP:
After losing six Wimbledon finals as player and coach, Tony Roche has finally broken his jinx. He was on a pretty sure thing this time, though, after teaming up with world No.1 Roger Federer whom he rated as the closest thing to an Australian you could get this side of the Pacific.

Roche admitted as he sat in the players' box at Centre Court he was worried he may have brought his Wimbledon final curse down on Federer. But the Swiss was untouchable in his straight sets caning of Andy Roddick, prompting Roche to compare Federer to his great Australian contemporaries Rod Laver and Lew Hoad.

"I thought maybe I was a jinx," Roche said. "It's Roger's moment, but I'm happy I've been able to be associated with somebody that's won Wimbledon. It's been a long time, I've had a lot of tough finals but for me it was just great to see somebody play that type of tennis, I think it was something special. This place is always special to the Australians and even though Rog is not Australian, he's as close as you can get to one. Just the way he plays, he reminds me so much of Rod and Lew. A lot reminds me of Rod Laver, he's a genius with what he can do."

And Roche knows about Laver's genius, losing to the Queenslander in straight sets in the Wimbledon singles final in 1968, although he won five doubles titles with John Newcombe. As one of the game's most respected coaches, he then took New Zealand's rank outsider Chris Lewis to the 1983 final, Ivan Lendl to the decider in 1986 and 1987 and Pat Rafter in 2000 and 2001. They lost them all. So Roche's relief when Federer's forehand passed Roddick to claim his third title was obvious.

There is no contract between the two, just an understanding and a close relationship in which Roche acts more mentor than hands-on coach. "It's more having someone there who's been through it, knows the pressure when you get on the practice court, understanding what he's going through," Roche said. "Roger won three of the four slams on his own last year, I think he knows what he's got to do."

Roche is Federer's second Australian coach, following the late Peter Carter who steered the teenage Swiss through to his debut as a professional. "He likes Australians, he feels comfortable with them and he was happy with the amount of weeks I could do with him," Roche said.

from Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Bud Collins met Roger Federer as he left the court yesterday and made the most of his couple of minutes on-camera. Unlike so many of his brethren, Collins didn't lead his subject into predictable responses.

He got Federer to admit he couldn't play much better than the straight-set sweep of puzzled, overmatched (for his day) Andy Roddick. "What is the last time you doubted yourself on a tennis court?" Collins asked.

from The Globe and Mail:
LONDON -- An hour after yesterday's Wimbledon final, champion Roger Federer stood on the pedestrian bridge between the men's locker room and the players' patio with a crowd cheering loudly below. After looking down and waving to fans gathered on either side, he decided to have a little fun. Like an orchestra conductor, he raised his arms and swayed them from side to side, directing the groups on either side to respond to each other with an even bigger roar.

Roger Federer's feats:

• Has lost only four sets in winning 21 matches at Wimbledon in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Has never been pushed to five sets.
• Is the first player to win his first five Grand Slam finals since American Tony Trabert in 1955.
• Only Borg, 22, Boris Becker, 23 and two months, and Mats Wilander, 23 and five months, have won their first five Grand Slam singles titles at a younger age than Federer, 23 and 10 months.
• Tactical change: In winning his first Wimbledon title in 2003, he served and volleyed on 302 of 504 points -- about 60 per cent. In winning in 2005, he served and volleyed 87 of 523 points -- about 19 per cent.

Jul 3, 2005 from Reuters:
LONDON - Roger Federer claimed a hat-trick of Wimbledon men's singles titles with a comfortable 6-2 7-6 6-4 victory over Andy Roddick on Sunday.

Federer, who was superb throughout, not only secured his 21st consecutive victory in a final but also extended his winning streak on grass to 36 matches. The top seed captured his fifth grand slam crown to maintain his perfect record in major finals and make amends for semi-final losses this year at the Australian and French Opens.

Only one point went against the serve in the opening five games of the match as both players quickly found their range on an overcast Center Court. It was not until the sixth game that Federer threatened his opponent's thundering delivery, a majestic backhand pass giving him a break point that Roddick saved with a volley. Sensing his moment, however, he carved out another opportunity with a wristy forehand winner and this time Roddick cracked. Federer accelerated through the first set, clinching another break at 5-2 with a miss-hit backhand that landed plumb on the line.

A shell-shocked Roddick was desperate for a foothold and it arrived at 1-1 in the second set when a flashing forehand had too much pace for Federer who dropped a volley into the net. The American fought off a break point in the next game to move ahead 3-1 as the final sparked into life. Federer simply went up a gear, however, pressurizing Roddick into errors with the sheer variety of his groundstrokes coupled with his telepathic court coverage.

The 23-year-old broke back when Roddick punched a backhand long and the alarm bells were ringing loudly for the American at 4-5 when his trusty serve was needed to fend off two set points. Roddick, whose only two defeats in his last 34 grasscourt matches have come against Federer, hung on grimly to force a tiebreak, but that proved a one-sided affair as the Swiss fired off winners all over the court to take it 7-2.

A 25-minute delay for light rain gave Roddick the opportunity to re-group and come up with a game plan. When play resumed he briefly looked capable of extending the contest but it was not enough to halt Federer's serene progress. In the sixth game Federer played the kind of return game that marks him out above every other player in the world. Racing across the court he curled a delicious forehand down the line to punish a weak Roddick volley, won an exchange at the net and secured a decisive break with a dipping backhand that angled across the flailing American.

from AAP:
An emotional Roger Federer was ecstatic after claiming a place in Wimbledon history by winning a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles on Sunday. "I really did play my best and I'm very, very proud to win it for the third time," said Federer after his victory over Andy Roddick. "This is very special."

The Swiss world number joined Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras as the only men to win three singles titles in a row at the All England Club since tennis turned professional in 1968. "Sampras was one of my favourite players all time and Borg was just fantastic," said the top seed. "To be in that group feels very special and I hope it's not gonna stop at three and maybe one day I'll win a fourth one but this is already very, very great."

"It was easier than the second time, I don't know why but I felt better throughout the tournament," he said. "Even though the pressure was on this year because of my semi-final losses at the Australian and the French Opens. Nevertheless I came here with huge expectations and that I'm standing here with the trophy, it feels like a dream. I'm so happy, record in finals, record on grass is still alive."

Jul 1, 2005 from Wimbledon Official Site:
Nobody in tennis battles more gallantly than Lleyton Hewitt, but gallantry alone was simply not enough in the face of another master class from Roger Federer in today's semi-finals of the men's singles.

Bidding for a hat-trick of titles, the Swiss advanced to Sunday's final by defeating the Australian 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in two hours seven minutes. Hewitt's tenacity and determination, in the face of Federer's firepower and shot-making genius, were not enough to save him from an eighth successive defeat at the hands of the man who is indisputably world number one.

There was early indication for Hewitt what he would be up against when Federer unleashed his first ace to clinch the opening game and promptly followed by capturing the Hewitt serve after three deuces. In breaking the Australian, Federer produced one of his "miracle" shots, a forehand bent round the netpost and into the deepest corner of the court. Hewitt provided the best sort of tonic at once by breaking the mighty Federer serve, though it was a Swiss forehand error which brought it about, striking the tape as he went for a wrong-footing winner.

With the champion opting to stay back, even when his first serve was on target, the match rapidly resolved itself into a baseline battle, with Hewitt's two-fisted backhand combating Federer's one-handed stroke. Tirelessly though he ran and retrieved, it was soon clear that Hewitt's chief hope was to induce Federer errors through steady rallies, rather than go for the spectacular winner.

Hewitt succeeded in staying afloat through the next four games, but his hopes of salvaging the first set were capsized when Federer upped the pace to break for a second time and move into a 5-3 lead, a lead which became a one-set advantage after 36 minutes, set up by his third ace and then a serve which forced a netted backhand return from the Australian.

With the need to stabilise the drift of the match now becoming urgent, Hewitt worked as hard as only he can to blunt the Federer machine. Once again, his best was good enough only for four games of the second set before the defending champion pounced again, breaking for a 3-2 lead by courtesy of three backhand errors in that game from Hewitt.

That was all Federer needed to steer his way through to a two-set lead after one hour 11 minutes. He did, however, show rare fallibility by engineering, and then missing, a set point at 5-3 on the Hewitt serve when he netted a routine backhand. The delay was brief, as the Swiss served out for 6-4. He got to set point with a backhand drop volley of pure delicacy and then followed with a thunderous serve which Hewitt, at full stretch, chopped back into the netting.

Just in case Hewitt's morale needed dynamiting even further, Federer produced another of his shots from outer space in the fifth game of the third set. Hewitt uncorked a smash which would have won the point against most tennis professionals, but Federer, at full stretch to his right, somehow made contact for a forehand which dipped across Hewitt's body in mid-court, leaving him flat-footed and probably dazed.

Hewitt, facing another two break points, somehow escaped intact, but his nerves, and his temper, underwent another searching test in the next game when, with Federer at deuce on serve, a forehand from the champion was called out on the baseline. What would have given Hewitt a break point, his first since that early break in the opening set, was denied him by French umpire Pascal Maria's overrule, which was shown by TV replays to be correct.

from Telegraph:
Roger Federer won his first Wimbledon title in 2003 without the court-side presence of his father, Robert. When a reporter turned up to investigate why, Federer snr responded flippantly that he couldn't find anyone to cat-sit Ginger, the family pet. When Robert was absent again in 2004, the cat-sitting obligations were repeated. But Robert is here this year.

Even though privately the Federer family are annoyed that a lighthearted remark has been taken so seriously, Robert is happy to keep up the myths of the demanding Ginger. "I've not been here to see him win either of his titles because someone had to stay home and feed Ginger. But it's OK, Ginger is alive and well and my daughter Diana is looking after him this year," he said wearily.