Top seed Safina needed all her battling qualities to beat former champion Mauresmo 4-6 6-3 6-4 under the closed Centre Court roof in the fourth round.

Five-time champion Federer, bidding for his own slice of history by winning a record 15th Grand Slam, nailed Sweden’s Robin Soderling, the man he beat in this month’s French Open final. In scorching temperatures the Swiss won what he later described as a serving contest 6-4 7-6 7-6.

Ivanovic retires

Second seed Serena, beaten last year by her older sister, thrashed Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-1 while Venus was required to play just eight games to get past sobbing Serb Ana Ivanovic, who quit with a thigh injury after little more than half an hour on Court One. She now plays Agnieszka Radwanska, who ended the run of 17-year-old American Melanie Oudin 6-4 7-5.

Impressive fourth seed Elena Dementieva, a semi-finalist last year, polished off fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1 6-3 to become the first player through to the last eight.

Germany’s Tommy Haas, the oldest player in the last 16, reached the last eight for the first time, outwitting Russia’s Igor Andreev 7-6 6-4 6-4. He will play fourth seed Novak Djokovic, one of nine former Grand Slam champions in fourth round action, after he beat Israel’s Dudi Sela 6-2 6-4 6-1.