Roger Federer beats Cameron Norrie in four sets to reach second week of Wimbledon, and win 1,250th career match

He looked his age in a rusty opener. He beat a player for the 19th time in 21 matches in the second round—ho-hum. Today, the Centre Court crowd wasn’t unequivocally on his side, as it usually is, and opposing him stood a player who had won almost as many matches at Queen’s Club than he had all year.

If you were looking for reasons for Roger Federer to stumble on Saturday, there were a few. He was even facing a lefty—one who often goes by a shortened version of his first name, and whose last name begins with “N.”

Instead, for nearly all of the first, second and third sets, we saw Federer’s best performance of the fortnight. He swung with confidence, applying plenty of spin on his strokes to keep Cameron (Cam) Norrie at bay. When forced to defend, Federer’s slice backhand was an elegant and potent knife. He served efficiently. For Federer fans, it was by far the most reassuring play from their hero this tournament.

Until 5-5 in the third set, when Federer took at 15-40 lead. Years ago, these break points were effectively match points, given the Swiss’ near-certain consolidation. And they may have been today, had Federer converted either chance. But the 39-year-old dropped eight consecutive points, four returning and four serving, to suddenly find himself in a fourth set. For Federer fans, a carefree Saturday suddenly turned dark.

It's a nice stat to hear. Roger Federer, after reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the 69th time.

Norrie was the biggest reason for the pivot in play. He lifted his game just in time, pressuring Federer with an array of challenges. The southpaw recalled Rafa with some combinations, his forehand contributing to 11 third-set winners, against just four unforced errors. Federer, on the other hand, had 11 UEs and only 10 winners in the set.

"He deserved that third set," Federer would say. "I thought he played excellent today."

In the fourth set, Federer broke at love for a 3-2 lead—his signature slice backhand trickling over the net on break point, and Norrie unable to return it—but rather than consolidating, the eight-time Wimbledon champion saw the Brit raise his level yet again. He broke right back to level the set, then held for 4-3 after saving a Federer break point.

But if Norrie's level of play continued to rise intermittently, Federer’s never fell for an extended stretch, even when opportunities slipped away. Take the 4-4 game in the fourth, with Norrie serving. Federer had just held serve after seeing a break chance evaporate, shifting the pressure right back to Norrie. As Federer did for much of this match, he dug into a return game—but this time, the deficit was too much for the 34th-ranked underdog to overcome.

"I felt a lot of peace, especially today": The Roger Federer interview

The final hold for a 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win—the 1,250th of Federer's carrer—was hardly guaranteed. Norrie didn't concede a bit, and made Federer dig out a tough volley at 15-30, after he failed to put an overhead away. But this time, there was consolidation from Federer, and jubilation from his fans.

"Super relieved," said Federer to the Centre Court crowd, now all applauding at once. "It was a tough battle with Cam. It was so close, to go serve it out at the end."

For Federer, it's his 18th appearance in the second week of The Championships, and his 69th time in the fourth round of a major. Even better, there are more encouraging signs from him and his supporters than when this week began.

"Overall, I definitely think I'm playing at a higher level now," said Federer, when asked to assess his current form. "I got lucky in the first round ... things are going better for me."