Defending champion Roger Federer has defeated Australian Lleyton Hewitt 6-1 6-7 6-0 6-4 to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The Swiss top seed lost his first set of the tournament when Hewitt won the second set tie-break 7-1, but eventually quelled the battling 2002 champion with his all-court mastery.
Hewitt, who had an 8-4 win-loss record against the Swiss before the quarter-final, fought like a demon and even broke Federer's previously impregnable serve before the champion hit back twice, sealing victory when Hewitt double-faulted.
Federer admitted it had been a real battle to get through against the former champion.
"It is always really good to get a decent start against him," he told BBC2. "He fought hard, there were a lot of rain breaks and he made life tough for me.
"He played really good tennis in the second set. It was tough to break him.
"I have had very few matches at Wimbledon which were very difficult, but this was a battle."
Federer faces either French 10th seed Sebastien Grosjean or unseeded Wimbledon debutant Florian Mayer of Germany in the last four.