ROGER Federer and Andy Murray stayed on course for a Wimbledon final clash with straight-sets victories in the quarter-finals today.
Title favourite Federer defeated big-serving Ivo Karlovic 6-3 7-5 7-6 (7/3) to reach his 21st consecutive grand slam semi-final, while third seed Murray was also a winner on Centre Court today, beating wild card Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5 6-3 6-2.
The British number one spared the crowd the nailbiting tension of his fourth-round win over Stanislas Wawrinka, a five-set epic that finished at 10.39pm under the new roof.
"I'm very happy to come through in straight sets because I had a long one the round before," said Murray.
"To get to the semi-finals for the first time is nice and I'll try my best to go further.
"There were quite a lot of errors from both of us at the start. I served very well but from the back of the court it was very, very hot out there today and quick, so there were quite a few mistakes early in the match.
"Once I got the first set I started to settle down and I returned great at the end."
Murray will play Andy Roddick in the last four after the sixth seed came through a tough five-setter against Lleyton Hewitt, winning 6-3 6-7 (10/12) 7-6 (7/1) 4-6 6-4.
Federer will next face 31-year-old Tommy Haas, who kept his fairytale run going by knocking out fourth seed Novak Djokovic.
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