Federer downs Gasquet to reach third round at Wimbledon

Former world number one Roger Federer continued his dominance over Frenchman Richard Gasquet on Thursday with a straight sets win to move into the third round at Wimbledon.

Roger Federer, who will be 40 next month, is seeking a ninth title at Wimbledon. Glyn KIRK AFP

The 39-year-old Swiss won 7-6, 6-1, 6-4 to set up a meeting with local hero Cameron Norrie who breezed past Alex Bolt 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

Gasquet went into his 21st encounter with Federer aiming for a first victory since the Rome Masters in 2011.

In the 10 matches before Thursday's second round on the grass in south-west London, Gasquet had  not won a set off Federer.

And though he held firm throughout the first set, he was blitzed in the tiebreak which Federer claimed seven points to one.

The second set was one-way traffic before Gasquet dug in to salvage a modicum of pride in the third.

Happy

"It's always a pleasure playing against Richard," said the sixth seed  after becoming the oldest man since Ken Rosewall in 1975 to make the last 32. "I'm really happy with my level."

His upbeat mood was in contrast to his comments after his first round match against Gasquet's compatriot Adrian Mannarino on Tuesday.

Federer admitted Mannarino was the better player when he slipped and injured himself on Centre Court during the fourth set.

In the women's draw, top seed Ashleigh Barty swept past Anna Blinkova and the French Open semi-finalist Coco Gauff reached the third round following a 6-4, 6-3 win over the veteran Russian Elena Vesnina.