No rain on Federer's parade

By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON (Reuters) - Wimbledon's usually reliable weather forecasters got it completely wrong on Friday although Roger Federer made all the right moves as he breezed into the second week of the grasscourt championships.

When the All England Club threw its gates open on Friday, the booming PA system welcomed spectators flocking into the grounds with the words "there is an increasing risk of heavy thundery showers as we move through the day."

The news was greeted with glee by many of the 15,000 Centre Court ticket holders, who hoped to become the first to see a competitive match under the multi-million pound roof.

Federer was also keen to test conditions under the new translucent 1000-tonne concertina structure but had to make do with playing in glorious sunshine during his 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-1 third round victory over Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Despite dropping his first set at this year's tournament, the signs looked ominous for anyone harbouring hopes of preventing the five-times former champion from reaching his seventh successive final in south-west London.

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The French Open champion, who is just four wins from a landmark 15th grand slam title, said it was his "best match of the tournament so far. I'm excited about the second week."

Those are not the words Robin Soderling was hoping to hear and the Swede is now likely to endure a few sleepless nights as he gears up for a rematch with the Swiss maestro just three weeks after their Roland Garros final showdown.