Tue Jul 1 14:22:11 2008

Comment | Email | Print

Federer, Nadal, Safin set for Wimbledon QFs on Wednesday

---

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Five-time champion Roger Federer, two- time runner-up Rafael Nadal and former world No. 1 Marat Safin will highlight Wednesday's quarterfinal action at Wimbledon.

The top-ranked Federer will take on unseeded Croat Mario Ancic, the last man to beat the mighty Swiss on a grass court.

Federer is 5-1 lifetime against Ancic, including a 1-1 mark at the All England Club and a recent victory over the Croat at Roland Garros.

The 26-year-old Federer hasn't lost on grass since falling to Ancic in the opening round here at the AEC in 2002. The super Swiss has won 63 straight on the surface, including victories over Nadal in the last two Wimbledon finales.

The 12-time Grand Slam titlist Federer has won his last 38 matches at the All England Club, where Bjorn Borg holds the record with 41 consecutive wins.

A second-seeded Nadal will encounter 12th-seeded Scotsman Andy Murray. The Spaniard is 3-0 all-time versus the Brit, including a clay-court victory in Hamburg in May.

The 22-year-old Nadal is currently riding a 21-match overall winning streak, including his first-ever grass-court title, in London, three weeks ago and a pasting of Federer in last month's French Open final, which gave the Spaniard a fourth straight title at Roland Garros.

An unseeded Safin will take on 31st-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who is 4-1 lifetime against the big Russian, including a win here at Wimbledon three years ago.

The 28-year-old currently 75th-ranked Safin is a two-time Grand Slam champion who has never advanced beyond the quarters at Wimbledon.

One other quarter will pit 32-year-old German Rainer Schuettler against 30- year-old Frenchman Arnaud Clement. Schuettler is 4-1 all-time versus Clement, including a victory at this year's Australian Open. Schuettler was an Aussie Open runner-up in 2003, while Clement reached the Aussie Open final in 2001, with both men losing to the great Andre Agassi in Melbourne.

Wednesday's winners will play in the semifinals here on Friday, while the lucrative final be staged Sunday on the famed Centre Court.