Federer’s grand slam appetite remains as keen as ever

Federer cruised through a potentially dangerous encounter 6-4 6-2 6-4, swatting aside an opponent who was arguably his main rival before the emergence of Rafael Nadal.

The Swiss star has not won a grand slam since beating Andy Murray at the Australian Open in January 2010, and had gone four slams without reaching a final until the French Open earlier this month.

“I don’t go through days thinking, ‘I haven’t won a grand slam in so long’. It hasn’t been that long,” he said.

“I’ve always been hungry. The day after my victories, the day after my final losses, I’ve been hungry.

“It doesn’t come in phases. I’m always hungry. And that’s a good thing.”

Nadal insists he is fit enough to continue the defence of his title despite suffering a leg injury during his third-round win over Gilles Muller.

The top seed took a tumble just before the rain came on Friday, but showed no obvious signs of discomfort as he returned to finish the job 7-6 (8/6) 7-6 (7/5) 6-0 on Court One.

Nadal, who was unable to defend his title at SW19 in 2009 owing to long-standing knee problems, was quick to dispel any talk of a similar injury this time around, insisting he had strained a muscle in his leg.

“I felt the leg was a little bit more tired than usual,” the 25-year-old said after dismissing Muller, the world No 96.

“I called for the trainer and (on Saturday) I am still feeling it a little bit. But this is not limiting my game.

“I can play with it without any problems. It’s not the knee, nothing of the knee. It’s just a little bit of muscle.”

Juan Martin Del Potro will meet Nadal after knocking out 15th seed Gilles Simon in three tight sets, winning 7-6 (10/8) 7-6 (7/5) 7-5.

Teenager Bernard Tomic showed fifth seed Robin Soderling no sympathy as he stormed to the greatest victory of his career and into the fourth round.

Soderling complained to the umpire that he was feeling unwell but Australian Tomic was ruthless, tearing through the Swede’s game to win the first set in just 17 minutes.

The 18-year-old world No 158 had to work harder as the match went on, but he closed out a comprehensive 6-1 6-4 7-5 victory to complete the biggest shock of this year’s men’s draw.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 12th seed from France, overcame Fernando Gonzalez 6-3 6-4 6-3 to book his place in the fourth round but ninth seed Gael Monfils was a surprise casualty as he lost to Poland’s Lukasz Kubot.

Last year’s runner-up Tomas Berdych continued his quiet but impressive progress, needing an hour and 43 minutes to beat Alex Bogomolov Jr 6-2 6-4 6-3.

That result left Mardy Fish, who beat Robin Haase after the Dutchman was forced to retire injured, as the last American standing.

Belgian Xavier Malisse dispatched 11th seed Jurgen Melzer 7-6 6-3 6-0 to progress to the last 16.