Federer sees off Soderling challenge

(GETTY IMAGES)

Second seed Roger Federer continued to scythe through the men's draw with a 6-4 7-6 7-6 fourth-round victory over Sweden's Robin Soderling today.

Federer beat Soderling in the French Open final earlier this month and the Swede had been expected to give the five-time champion his first test of the fortnight, but the Swiss maestro never looked flustered as he booked his quarter-final berth.

Federer took the opening set 6-4 courtesy of the only break of the match and wrapped up the second 7-5 in the tiebreak. He won the third, again 7-5 in the breaker, when the Swede guided a backhand return wide.

Federer will play Spanish seventh seed Fernando Verdasco or Ivo Karlovic, the Croatian 22nd seed, for a place in the semi-finals.

Fourth seed Novak Djokovic continued his unassuming path through the men's draw with a 6-2 6-4 6-1 victory over Israel's Dudi Sela.

Former Australian Open champion Djokovic, the youngest man remaining in the draw, simply had too much ammunition for the 24-year-old world number 46, and progressed through to the last eight for the second time with ease.

Sela, the first Israeli man to go this far at a grand slam for 17 years, could not reproduce the form that took him past seeds Rainer Schuettler and Tommy Robredo in previous rounds, ditching a forehand into the net on match point.

Djokovic will play Germany's Tommy Haas, the oldest men's survivor, for a place in the semi-finals.

Earlier, Germany's Tommy Haas reached the quarter-finals for the first time in his career when he demolished Russian Igor Andreev 7-6 6-4 6-4.

Haas, at 31 and two months the oldest player remaining in the men's draw, showed superb timing off both wings to produce his best showing at the All England Club since his debut in 1997.

The former world number two took a tight opener 10-8 on the tiebreak and after that solved the problem of the 29th seed's booming forehand to wrap up the second just 41 minutes later.

A single break was enough in the third and the end came when Andreev netted a forehand. He will play fourth seed Novak Djokovic from Serbia for a place in the semi-finals.