Hewitt clashes with Federer in Wimbledon QF

That nightmare against Rafael Nadal looked long forgotten as Federer beat France’s Marc Giquel 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 with ridiculous ease in the third round on Friday.

Hewitt meanwhile went through with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) win over Simone Bolelli of Italy as he again made light of a lingering hip injury.

That set the stage for a meeting on Monday of two players who first played each other when they were just 15. “We both know our strengths and weaknesses. We’ve played enough times. We’ve played a couple of times here at Wimbledon, as well, in quarters and semis of this tournament,” said 27-year-old Hewitt.

“This is what you play for. There’s no doubt about it. Especially in my situation, these are the matches I enjoy. It’s good to get out there and play on Centre Court, play against the best player in the world.”

Hewitt said tactics would be crucial – and he has a secret weapon in his armoury in the shape of Federer’s former coach Tony Roche.

“Rochey’s obviously going to know a lot. There’s no doubt about that. But you’ve still got to go out there and execute it as well, and, you know, not play into Roger’s hands too much,” Hewitt said.

“If you’re just playing in his comfort zone then he’s going to enjoy that. He does enjoy dictating play, playing off when the ball is in his court and he can dictate have you going side to side and changing pace and changing direction and all that different stuff. That’s when he’s at his best.” The Australian has not reached a quarter-final at a Grand Slam since the 2006 US Open and has slipped to a world ranking of 27, but 26-year-old Federer insisted he would represent a genuine challenge.

“The next round will be difficult against a more experienced player. Hewitt’s a former world number one. He’s won Grand Slam titles. It should be an exciting match,” said the Swiss who hasn’t lost on grass since his first round exit here against Mario Ancic six years ago,” said the current number one.

Federer leads Hewitt 13-7 in their career meetings, but the Australian has lost the last 11 and has not beaten the Swiss in five years.