ROGER FEDERER on Monday became the oldest man to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since the dawn of the Open Era in 1968 but then gave a cautious welcome to the return of capacity crowds at the All England Club.

From yesterday’s start of the women’s quarterfinals until Sunday’s men’s final, organizers can drop the 50 percent capacity rule, which has been enforced since the start of the tournament.

The cap was part of an agreement to allow fans to attend as the country comes slowly out of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in 2020 caused Wimbledon to be canceled for the first time since World War II.

“I’m still not 100 percent convinced we are on the other side. I still think there is more to come,” said Federer of his fears of another wave.

The All England Club will now allow the 15,000-capacity Center Court to be full as well as the 12,345-capacity Court One.

“We’ll see how it turns out to be now that we have 100 percent capacity. I mean, it already almost felt like a hundred percent, to be quite honest, because the fans here at Wimbledon, they do such a nice job to make us feel so special,” added Federer.

Federer, who will be 40 in just under five weeks’ time, eased past Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 to make the last eight for the 18th time.

“I felt after the first set I was able to control things. I couldn’t be more excited to be in the quarters,” said Federer.

From next year, play will be held on the middle Sunday, which has traditionally been the tournament rest day.

“I’m happy to have played in the era that there was a ‘Middle Sunday’ but it now means more people can come to the tournament,” he said.

Federer will face either second seed Daniil Medvedev or Hubert Hurkacz, the 14th seed, for a place in the semifinals.

(SD-Agencies)