Federer fights his way into quarterfinals

Jankovic bows to Cirstea; Serena sets up clash with Kuznetsova

With the claycourt major still reeling from the shock exit of four-times champion Rafael Nadal just 24 hours earlier, Federer was on the brink of the same fate before finding the strength to bury German Tommy Haas 6-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.

Fifth seed Jelena Jankovic completed a miserable three days for the Serbs when she followed compatriots Novak Djokovic and 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic out with a 3-6, 6-0, 9-7 defeat by little known Romanian teenager Sorana Cirstea.  But an out-of-form Jankovic's loss barely caused a stir after Federer's great escape on Centre Court.

When Haas swiped a service return wide after three hours and seven minutes of nerve-shredding action, Federer leapt high in the air and let out an almighty roar to mark the moment he had booked a quarterfinal date against either American sixth seed Andy Roddick or Frenchman Gael Monfils.

Only 70 minutes earlier, it had looked like the Swiss would suffer his earliest grand slam loss since 2004 when he came within five points of defeat.

At two sets and 3-4 down facing a break point, Federer conjured up a screaming forehand winner to bring the scores back to deuce. Federer earned his get-out-of-jail-free card two points later when Haas dragged a forehand long.

"When I hit that forehand to save a break point at 3-4 in the third, I had the feeling it could be a turning point in the match," said Federer, who has reached the semifinals or better in the last 19 grand slam events.

"I thought almost that it was my first good shot of the match. I knew the significance of that shot. That saved me on that day and I was able to turn around the whole match. It's a great feeling, because I was in quite some danger right there."

From then on, Federer won eight successive games and his charge towards a record-equalling 14th grand slam title was safe — at least for another two days.

Tommy Robredo made sure there was at least some Spanish interest left in the draw when he beat Djokovic's conqueror Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 5-7 7-6 6-2.  Robredo will meet Juan Martin del Potro after the Argentine fifth seed made it through to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 win over French ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
In women’s singles, Serena Williams, the second seed, posted a  6-1 6-2 win over Canadian 24th seed Aleksandra Wozniak.  The 2002 champion will face seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova after the Russian scored a  6-4, 1-6, 6-1 win over Pole Agnieszka Radwanska.

Paes-Dlouhy in semis

Leander Paes kept the Indian challenge alive by advancing to the men’s doubles semifinals with Czech Lukas Dlouhy.

Third seeds Paes and Dlouhy defeated fifth seeds Bruno Soares of Brazil and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Results  (prefix denotes seeding):
Men’s singles, fourth round: 16-Tommy Robredo (ESP) bt 29-Philipp Kohlschreiber (Ger) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(7-4), 6-2; 2-Roger Federer (Sui) bt Tommy Haas (Ger) 6-7 (4-7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2; 5-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) bt 9-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4;
Women’s singles, fourth round: 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) bt 12-Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) 6-4, 1-6, 6-1;  2-Serena Williams (US) bt 24-Aleksandra Wozniak (Can) 6-1, 6-2; Sorana Cirstea (Romania) bt 5-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) 3-6, 6-0, 9-7; Samantha Stosur (Aus) bt Virginie Razzano (Fra) 6-1, 6-2.
Men’s doubles, quarterfinals: Wesley Moodie/Dick Norman (SA/Bel) w/o Jose Acasuso/Fernando Gonzalez (Arg/Chi); 3-Lukas Dlouhy/Leander Paes (Cze/Ind) bt 5-Bruno Soares/Kevin Ullyett (Bra/Zim) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). Women’s doubles, quarterfinals: 12-Victoria Azarenka/Elena Vesnina (Bela/Rus) bt 16-Yan Zi/ Zheng Jie (Chn) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; 3-Anabel Medina Garrigues/ Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spa) bt 11-Anna-Lena Groenefeld/ Patty Schnyder (Germany/Switzerland) 7-6(2), 6-2.