Wimbledon: Roger Federer continues to see off home hopes with ease

But Novak Djokovic is in trouble, trailing Sam Querry by two sets during an overnight rain delay

Roger Federer was in fine form as he overcame home hope Dan Evans on Friday night (Getty)

Andy Murray had company for longer than usual at a Grand Slam tournament but after five days here the Scot is in his usual situation as the last Briton left standing. On a day when Tara Moore’s defeat to Svetlana Kuznetsova ended British interest in the women’s singles, Roger Federer left Murray as the only home player remaining in the men’s competition when he beat Dan Evans 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

Forty-eight hours after beating Marcus Willis under the Centre Court roof, Federer put another Briton to the sword with a display of typically attacking tennis. “It’s been fun playing against Marcus and Dan,” Federer said afterwards. “They are both talented players and I wish them well for the future.”

There were times when Evans gave as good as he got, but the world No 91 was kept under constant pressure on his serve. Evans, who should climb about 20 places in the world rankings at the end of the tournament to assume his highest ever position, never looked over-awed in his first appearance on Centre Court but found the gap in class simply too big to bridge.

Evans, who was ranked outside the world’s top 700 a year ago and has spent most of the last 12 months playing on the Challenger circuit, said afterwards that it had been “surreal” to see Federer on the other side of the net.

“It was tough to get used to,” he said. “There were so many people. It was very different to what I am used to. I didn't expect it to be so sort of on top of me. It was pretty close. It was really close. It was just an amazing experience just to play him. I don’t think I played too badly, I just didn’t serve very well. I enjoyed it.”

Evans added: “He hits the ball so deep and early. Before I knew it, the ball was on me. It was pretty simple. It was such a tough match, but it's a learning curve, isn't it?”

Willis had started his match against Federer by losing the first set to love and Evans must have wondered whether he would suffer the same fate when he went 4-0 down. However, the Briton kept his composure and retrieved one break in the sixth game before Federer served out for the opening set.

Novak Djokovic has work to do if he is to remain in contention to retain his SW19 crown (Getty)

However, the second set started in identical fashion as Federer again won the first four games before Evans got on the scoreboard. Two subsequent service holds kept the score respectable, but Federer was proving what a superb front-runner he can be.

At least Evans made a better start to the third set as he held serve with two superb winners down the line, the first a backhand and the second a forehand. Federer, nevertheless, won the next five games to take a stranglehold on the match. Evans held to love when he served to stay in the match but in the following game Federer completed his victory after just 86 minutes with an unreturned serve.

Federer said he was pleased with his performance. “I got off to a good start in all three sets which helps a lot because you can play more freely,” the seven-times champion said. “Dan was under pressure and couldn’t get many free points on his serve.”

Evans said he would never forget the experience. “I’ll treasure every memory I made on that court. I'll go home tonight and I probably will think about it. I'd like to think the people who watched it enjoyed it as well.

“It was just one of those things that didn't go my way. It was a bit one sided, but I can't really help that today. Hopefully it won't be the last time I get on a good court. I just want to be in these tournaments every time one of these tournaments come around. I want to be in the main draw.

“There is a chance I'll be on, what, Court 16, 17. But you’ve got to get through to come and get on these courts. That's the reward really, to get on these courts, winning the first round, second round, then getting a chance to play Federer or whoever it may be.”

Out on Court One the rain came to the rescue of Novak Djokovic, who lost the first two sets to Sam Querrey before play was called off for the day. A curiously lacklustre Djokovic was trailing 7-6, 6-1 to the big-serving American and will have little room for manoeuvre when their third-round match resumes on Saturday.

Djokovic, who came back from two sets down to beat Kevin Anderson in the fourth round last year, has not gone out in the third round of a Grand Slam tournament since the 2009 French Open. The world No 1 currently holds all four Grand Slam titles and has not lost a match in Grand Slam competition since Stan Wawrinka won their French Open final last year.