Roger Federer has all the answers. Fortunate, because after progressing to the fourth round, he faced a barrage of questions.

He was asked at the post-match press conference about the death of Michael Jackson, the legacy of Nelson Mandela and whether he would be happy for his imminent baby to be born in England.

It transpired that he had once stood outside a Jackson concert in Basle as an excited schoolboy with his sister straining to hear the music, dreams of meeting Mandela and, like any impending dad, is just happy if the baby his wife Mirka is expecting is "healthy".

He was just as coy over whether he will win his sixth Wimbledon singles title in just over a week's time, claiming predictions that he would meet Britain's Andy Murray in the final were "premature".

But everything he has done in the first week of this Wimbledon so far suggests that Federer is the man to beat, even though he dropped his first set of the tournament.

Federer said: "It was my best match of the tournament so far. The rhythm was very high. We played a lot of tough points and from my side it was an excellent match. I would have loved to have won in straight sets but he came back strong.

"Maybe my serve let go just a little bit and he deserved the third set. But I was happy how I reacted. I didn't panic. It doesn't really bother me how I come through but it's important to feel good when I walk off the court."

Forget the couple of lapses of concentration in the third set and Federer looks as good as he has ever done at these championships.

He plays tennis like Sir Bobby Charlton, up in the Royal Box, used to play football. With an economy of effort, an elegance and occasional surges of power such as the two aces and four first serves in his opening service game.

In truth, in the first two sets Federer simply steamrollered an opponent who had not taken a set off him in three previous meetings.

The third set was different, partly because Kohlschreiber, to his credit, dug in and battled to bring some respectability to the scoreline.

And partly because Federer appeared almost bored by his own sublime game, as if craving more competitive opposition to sharpen him up for the tougher challenges next week.

It looked like that when one flash of uncharacteristic frustration surfaced when a forehand landed flush on the line only to be called out by the line judge.

Federer threw his arms wide, appealed to the umpire and Hawkeye confirmed the great man's eyesight to be somewhat keener than the official's.

But if three of the sets were routine - Federer brilliance and a bit of a yawn if the truth be told - the third was the best of the match. A delight.

A mixture of Federer touch and classic movement allied with the German's pugnacious attempt to stain the former champion's cloak of perfection.

The rallies were heavy and long and Kohlschreiber gained increasing joy at the net, reclaiming the break of serve he had suffered at the start in the eighth game.

He took a quality tie-break when Federer pushed an easy forehand wide and for a moment there was a murmur around Centre Court. Was Federer fallible after all?

It lasted as long as it took for Kohlschreiber to lose his next service game, Federer engaging cruise control once more to set up a fourth-round meeting with Swede Robin Soderling, who he beat in the French Open final.

Federer admitted he would need to be on his guard against the man who defeated Rafael Nadal in Paris.

"Soderling has got a huge game," he said.

"Now he's also got the taste of beating the top players. That makes him more dangerous. But I've beaten him so many times that it gives me an incredible amount of confidence. If I play my game well I should be fine. But I have to be careful."

Once more, he sounded like the man with all the answers.