Despite the efforts of Juan Carlos Ferrero, defending champion Roger Federer today reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon, wining his quarter-final match over Ferrero 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-1 6-3.
Although Ferrero broke Federer once to take the second set, hopes of a victory did not last long for him as Federer stepped up the pace and lost only four games in the final two sets, eventually winning the match without difficulty.
When asked about how the five-day break proceeding the match had affected him, Federer told the BBC: "It's an advantage but also a disadvantage. I'm really happy I came through; it means I'm back in the rhythm."
"It was really, really tough conditions, very gusty wind, so I'm happy to come through it. OK, a set is lost but the match isn't lost."
Second seed Rafael Nadal, who lost to Federer in the final last year, has also booked his place in the Wimbledon semi-finals with a straight-sets victory over Tomas Berdych.
Berdych seemed to lose concentration in the second set and Nadal raced away with the victory, giving probably the best performance of his career on grass and winning 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-2.
Nadal will face fourth seed Novak Djokovic in his semi final match on Saturday and Federer will play either Andy Roddick or Richard Gasquet.