Roger Federer

Q. What was your verdict on that performance?

ANDY MURRAY: I thought the second and third sets were very good. The first set I served very well, but made quite a lot of mistakes from the back. Hit the ball pretty short.

Yeah, obviously very happy to win in straight sets because, you know, the first set was tough. But I settled down after that.

Q. Physically you were happy?

Andy Murray, the focus of frenzied media attention as he bids to end Britain's long wait for a men's champion at Wimbledon, has been watching clips of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr to distract him from the furore.

Murray faces Andy Roddick in his first Wimbledon semi-final on Friday with the British press devoting endless column inches to his chances of becoming the first men's home champion since Fred Perry in 1936.

Q. Are you surprised what happened, or after what happened in Queen's you were pretty confident you could repeat?
TOMMY HAAS: I didn't play in Queen's. In Halle. No problem, I understand.
Well, having played him in Halle and having beaten him there obviously gave me confidence for today. He is obviously ranked No. 4 in the world for a reason. So, you know, knew that I have to take my chances if I'm going to get them today and play very solid.

Germany’s Tommy Haas reached his first Wimbledon semi-final at the age of 31 on Wednesday, outclassing a tentative Novak Djokovic 7-5 7-6 4-6 6-3.

The Serbian fourth seed, looking nervous from the start and rarely taking the initiative, managed to salvage one set but looked a pale shadow of the scintillating player who won last year’s Australian Open.

Roger Federer was at his championship best Wednesday. Tactically astute and mentally ready, the Swiss superstar negated dangerman Ivo Karlovic in a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6(3) win to reach his seventh straight semi-final at The Championships.

The second seed, riding a 17-match winning streak on the back of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid and Roland Garros titles, withstood 23 aces from Karlovic’s racquet in a one-hour and 42-minute victory.

Roger Federer has reached his 21st consecutive Grand Slam semifinal by beating Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (3) at Wimbledon.

Federer used brilliant returns to break the hard-serving Karlovic once in each of the first two sets Wednesday and took advantage of the Croat’s poor net play in the tiebreaker. The Swiss star set up four match points with a backhand pass and converted the second with a forehand winner.

Federer never faced a break point against the 6-foot-10 Karlovic, who had not lost serve in his first four matches at Wimbledon.

Tennis fans are in for a treat at The Championships on Wednesday as five Grand Slam champions, including four former World No. 1s, and four of the top six seeds feature in quarter-final action.

[2] Roger Federer (SUI) vs. [22] Ivo Karlovic (CRO), Centre Court

Roger Federer, the five-time former champion and second seed, takes an 8-1 record into the first quarter-final on Centre Court against No. 22 seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia.

Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Centre Court 13:00 Start
1. Gentlemen's Singles - Quarterfinals
Ivo Karlovic (CRO)[22] v. Roger Federer (SUI)[2]
2. Gentlemen's Singles - Quarterfinals
Andy Murray (GBR)[3] v. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)
Court 1 13:00 Start
1. Gentlemen's Singles - Quarterfinals
Tommy Haas (GER)[24] v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[4]
2. Gentlemen's Singles - Quarterfinals
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) v. Andy Roddick (USA)[6]

 Roger Federer and Andy Murray are locked on collision course for a dream Wimbledon final, but a giant Croatian and a wily Spaniard stand in their quarter-final paths on Wednesday.

Federer will be playing his 25th Grand Slam quarter-final while 6ft 10in (2.08m) Ivo Karlovic has never before got this far in the majors.