Federer, Ancic cross paths again

He was a mere qualifier when he beat Federer in straight sets in the first round of the 2002 Championships. Since then, the Swiss star has won seven Grand Slam titles and put himself in line to become one of the best players of all time.

Federer is three wins away from becoming the second player in the open era to win four straight Wimbledon titles, joining Bjorn Borg five straight from 1976-80 and Pete Sampras 1997-2000. Federer beat Czech Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round on Monday, and relished the chance to meet Ancic just three weeks after beating the Croat in three sets in the French Open quarterfinals. Since that 2002 Wimbledon loss, Federer is 3-0 against Ancic.

8220;We8217;ve had some tough matches in the past,8221; Federer said. 8220;We just played each other at the French Open. Obviously, that8217;s very different to what we8217;re going to see here. The biggest memory probably is that he8217;s the last guy I lost to on grass, so I think that will be the headline.8221; The 6-foot-5 Ancic, who served 31 aces in his 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Serbia8217;s Novak Djokovic, was often compared to countryman Goran Ivanisevic, who won Wimbledon as a wild card in 2001. Ancic reached the semis here in 2004. 8220;Obviously he8217;s got the grass-court expertise,8221; Federer said. 8217;It8217;s going to be a tough match.8221;

Federer vs Ancic is the standout men8217;s quarterfinal, with the winner to face either Jonas Bjorkman or Radek Stepanek. In the bottom half, 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt is up against Marcos Baghdatis, and French open champ Rafael Nadal takes on Jarkko Nieminen.