Roger Federer found his Centre Court experience much easier than he expected today as he beat 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-2 6-4. The 18-time major champion never even had to find top gear as raced through the match in just 98 minutes, breaking the Bulgarian once in the first set, twice in the second and twice again in the third set.

Dimitrov described what went wrong in the relatively tight first set. He said, “I think I played a poor game at 4-All. I missed a few balls by an inch and it could have easily gone either way.” After the Bulgarian lost the opener, his level plummeted in the second set. He made a couple of untimely errors to drop serve in the fifth game, then was broken again during an appalling seventh game which included two unforced errors and a double fault. Federer won the set 6-2.

The match finally came to life in the middle of the third set after the players traded four easy holds. Dimitrov sparked it when he whipped a superb forehand into the opposite corner for a winner, then hit an unreturned serve and a 126mph ace to go 40-15 up. However, two forehand unforced errors later, the score was locked at deuce. Federer earned break point with a fantastic backhand down the line, only for the Bulgarian to save it with an ace down the T. But somehow, the World No.11 managed to make two unforced errors on his backhand side to surrender the break.

Federer held to go 4-2 up, and then hit one of the best shots of the tournament so far – a sublime drop shot from behind the baseline – during Dimitrov’s next service game. However, the Bulgarian produced two excellent backhand winners down the line to hold.

From nowhere, the 13th seed followed it with one of the outstanding games of his career to break the Swiss. First, he benefitted from a net cord which lifted his backhand over Federer’s racket for a winner. Next, he hit a truly extraordinary forehand winner down the line as he struck the ball when it was just centimeters off the ground. And he was not done yet, as he also hit a forehand winner cross-court and reeled off a series of brilliant forehands to force the decisive error from his opponent. Anticlimactically, he then surrendered his serve by making three errors, before Federer held easily to finish the match.

Dimitrov said, “I'm disappointed in myself. I didn't play my best tennis. If you don't play good against Roger, especially here on grass, it's very difficult. I made a lot of unforced errors, and my first serve was not on point. Without those weapons, it's never easy against him.” He continued, “I wasn't able to play my game. I felt a little bit better towards the end of the match and was tracking the ball a little bit better, but still, that didn't really help.”

The Bulgarian was at a loss when trying to explain what went wrong for him. He said, “I think that factor with the pressure (against the top players) and all that, it's way past. If I'm out there on the court, it's to win. It doesn't matter who is in front of me. I need to play my game and make sure that if I win, I win on my terms, and if I lose, I lose on my terms. But today nothing was going my way, absolutely nothing. It’s a shame. I really felt I was on a good path. I felt physically very strong as I didn't waste that much energy in the previous matches. But I guess I need to accept this. I need to move on and just start preparing for whatever's ahead of me.”

Federer described how he feels about his current form and his chances of winning Wimbledon. He said, “That is always a hard one to answer just because it's always very dependent on who you play. If you play a baseliner, and you rush him off the court from the baseline, usually then you feel your very best. But to beat a big server is a different kind of match. It's more of a penalty shootout. That's what's going to come my way with Raonic or Zverev.”

He continued, “I feel like I'm rested enough. I've not had the most toughest matches. I can look at this quarter-final in a totally relaxed fashion. Physically I'm not fighting anything like last year with my knee. I'm ready to go this afternoon if I have to, which is great, but I don't have to. I think that's a great bonus. Then again, the best players are left in the draw. It's going to be a tough one. I'm aware of that. That's why I can't think too far ahead. I think it's going to be a tough finish to this tournament.”