Federer believes Wimbledon Centre Court 'roof' will cause 'more shocks in sport'

Sydney, June 30 (ANI): Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer believes the roof on Wimbledon's famed Centre Court has made a lottery out of his pursuit for the championship title.

The current world no. 3, chasing Pete Sampras's record of seven titles, survived an epic battle to defeat France's Julien Benneteau on Friday to reach the last 16.

However, he had been just two points from defeat in the fourth set before clinching a 4-6 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 win and avoided slumping to his earliest defeat at the All England Club in 10 years.

"It does play different indoors. Obviously that's a bit of getting used to. Indoor grass not something we're quite familiar with," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Federer, as saying.

"You just don't have the elements. You just don't have the sun setting, which can be tricky at times," he added.

Federer believes that the unique conditions served up under the roof can cause more shocks in the sport and keep the top three players in the world on their toes.

"I think 15 years ago you had matches like this so much more often on the faster surfaces, that a guy could catch fire and just run through you. Today it's virtually impossible because you make so many more returns and conditions are so much slower with the elements," Federer said. (ANI)