Roger Federer Defeats Denis Istomin to Advance to Olympic Tennis Quarterfinals

Roger Federer’s success at Wimbledon has continued, and he has advanced past Denis Istomin to the quarterfinals of the 2012 Olympic tennis tournament.

The competition’s top-seeded player moved past Istmonin by a score of 7-5, 6-3, as reported by TSN. Istomin represents Uzbekistan and is the No. 35 player in the world.

The report notes that Federer faced a sticky situation in the first set when Istomin had the advantage with the score tied at five, but he pulled himself out of the jam and went on to win in straight sets.

Federer will face the winner of American John Isner and Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic. He defeated Columbia’s Alejandro Falla in the first round and France’s Julien Benneteau in his second match. 

August 8 is Federer’s 31st birthday, and it will also be exactly one month since his historic win at the Wimbledon championships. 

Federer’s victory was his seventh on the famous grass courts, tying him for most ever with Pete Sampras. The Grand Slam performance also put him back on top of the ATP rankings, equaling Sampras’ record of 286 weeks on top of the tennis world.

If the Swiss’ form continues, he will have another gold medal on his résumé by the time he celebrates his birthday. Federer has never won the singles competition at the Olympics, although he and Stanislas Wawrinka won the doubles event four years ago.

The road to the tallest podium will not be easy, as some of the world’s top players, including Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, who also advanced Wednesday, are competing in the tournament. Still, the courts at Wimbledon have hosted Federer’s best tennis in years, and his play has certainly justified his top seed.