After a sluggish first round in which he advanced after his opponent retired with a knee injury, 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer returned to form in a second-round rout of Frenchman Richard Gasquet on Thursday.

No. 6 Federer, who turns 40 next month, handled Gasquet 7-6(1), 6-1, 6-4 and remains alive for another deep run despite playing just 10 matches in 19 months while recovering from two knee surgeries in 2020. He is the oldest man to reach the third round at Wimbledon since Ken Rosewall in 1975.

Its not the most important to feel your absolute best in the first and second round; what you dont want to do is go out because then you gotta really look at everything and question yourself, he said on-court.

Im not there, Im in the third round, Im really happy with my level. It was special, so Im very happy with that. Its been a difficult year and half for me in many ways with the double-knee surgery and the rehab and everything. The initial goal was to come back for Wimbledon last year. I was never going to make it. I was going to be walking around the court if Wimbledon happened, so this year its nice that they gave me a chance to be here.

Also on the mens side, No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, No. 4 Sascha Zverev and No. 7 Matteo Berrettini all advanced in straight sets. Federer could face Medvedev in the quarterfinals and Zverev in the semis. American Taylor Fritz, 23 days removed from surgery on his right meniscus, beat fellow American Stevie Johnson in five sets.

Unlike the first-round match against Adrian Mannarino, where Federer looked sluggish and struggled with his forehand wing while going down two-sets-to-one, he moved better and handled the big points well while improving to 19-2 against the Frenchman in their last 21 encounters. Federer smacked nine aces and won 80 percent of points on his first serve.

Federer fell once while rushing the net but did not suffer the same fate as Mannarino or Serena Williams, both of whom retired Tuesday.

Next up on Saturday Federer gets No. 29 Cam Norrie, one of three Brits left in the draw along with two-time champion Andy Murray and Dan Evans. Norrie routed Alex Bolt of Australia in straight sets Thursday. They have only met once before, in the 2019 Hopman Cup on hardcourts where Federer rolled 6-1, 6-1.

I hope the crowds going to get into it regardless who they cheer for, Federer said. I understand if its for him, and if its for me, its because of the last 20 years and all the big matches Ive played here.

He added: Cams a good guy, hes had a wonderful year, he played great in Queens and now hes back out here again so Im happy for him. I know its going to be a tough match, but enough now he needs to go out and I need to go through. But well see what happens.

Federer remains alive for a 21st major, but world No. 1 Novak Djokovic is the betting favorite to win his 20th. Djokovic, who plays his third-round match Friday, is half way to a calendar Grand Slam and is bidding for a Golden Slam with the Tokyo Olympics. Both Federer and Djokovic were listed Friday among the Olympics participants, but Federer may still withdraw depending on how things play out in London.

Federer and Djokovic are on opposite sides of the draw, leaving the possibility they could reprise their epic 2019 final in which Federer held two match points at 8-7, 40-15 in the fifth set before Djokovic ultimately prevailed in a tiebreak at 12-all.