Federer, Roddick Advance at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England – Accustomed to hitting improbable winners at Wimbledon, Roger Federer came up with a shot on the run that amazed even him.

The two-time defending champion delivered a feathery backhand cross-court shot in the final game Saturday and beat Nicolas Kiefer in the third round, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-5.

“A beautiful shot,” Federer said. “I hit it, and once I looked it was already on the other side of the net. It was an important shot, you know.”

Eager to avoid a fifth set, Federer rallied twice from a service break down in the last set. He hit three aces in the final game to go with the picturesque backhand, completing his 32nd consecutive victory on grass and 17th in a row at the All England Club.

Second-seeded Andy Roddick, who lost to Federer in last year’s final, held every service game and beat Igor Andreev 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4).

On a chilly, cloudy afternoon, women’s winners included Lindsay Davenport, Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova. None lost a set.

Top-ranked Davenport routed Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-1. The 1999 champion, Davenport has lost only eight games in three matches.

She next plays four-time Grand Slam runner-up Clijsters, who eliminated Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4. Clijsters will try to avenge a fourth-round loss to Davenport at the French Open last month.

“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” Clijsters said. “After Paris, this motivates me. This is a challenge. Lindsay is a great grass-court player, so it’s going to be tough.”

Two-time champion Williams, seeded 14th, beat No. 20 Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-3. Williams has lost only one set in seven matches against Hantuchova.

Victories by Sharapova and Nadia Petrova gave Russia six women in the final 16.

Defending champion Sharapova sent Katarina Srebotnik sprawling to the grass in vain pursuit of a shot, then hit a forehand winner on the next point to close out a 6-2, 6-4 victory. No. 8-seeded Petrova beat wild card Cara Black 6-4, 6-3.

Sharapova, seeded second, has lost just 11 games so far, but her play was more erratic than in the first two rounds. She shanked an overhead, blew an easy volley and finished with 21 unforced errors, including 14 in the first six games.

Still, Sharapova advanced to the fourth round for the third time in as many career appearances at the All England Club. She hit 21 winners, broke serve four times and lost serve just once.

“The score doesn’t say much about the match,” Sharapova said. “It was a lot tougher than it seemed.”

Conchita Martinez’s 14th consecutive Wimbledon ended when she lost to Kveta Peschke 6-4, 6-1. Martinez, 33, won the 1994 title.

French Open runner-up Mary Pierce, playing at Wimbledon for the 10th time, defeated 17-year-old Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-4.

“Experience does help,” said Pierce, 30. “It does make a difference. It doesn’t mean you’re going to beat everybody, but it definitely helps.”

Eleni Daniilidou, who upset French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne in the opening round, was eliminated by No. 26 Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-3.

In the completion of a match suspended Friday because of rain, No. 31-seeded Mikhail Youzhny celebrated his 23rd birthday by beating Jonas Bjorkman 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9). Youzhny will next play No. 21 Fernando Gonzalez.

No. 9 Sebastien Grosjean, a semifinalist the past two years, beat qualifier Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. No. 12 Thomas Johansson drubbed Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-3, 6-1.

The top-ranked Federer, seeking his first major title this year, will next play 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, who reached the fourth round to equal his best showing at Wimbledon. Seeded 23rd, Ferrero rallied and eliminated 2004 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Florian Mayer 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.

Federer hit consecutive double-faults to fall behind 5-3 in the fourth set, and in the next game Kiefer was twice two points from forcing a fifth set.

But Kiefer double-faulted to lose serve, then was broken again to fall behind 6-5, and Federer completed the victory in 2 hours, 35 minutes.

“In the end, if I win in five hours on court or one hour, it doesn’t matter as long as I keep on winning,” Federer said. “This was definitely a test today, absolutely. I had to survive some tough moments.”