Federer welcomes resurgence of golden oldies

By Padraic Halpin

LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer probably did not expect to be one of the younger members of the Wimbledon men''s quarter-final line-up, but he was happy to let some of the game''s elder statesmen share the limelight.

The Swiss maestro was the second oldest player in the 2007 quarters aged 25, but a resurgence in the game''s older generation saw him enter this year''s last eight as the fourth youngest.

The Swiss, who booked his place in a 21st straight grand slam semi-final on Wednesday, welcomed the company of contemporaries like Lleyton Hewitt, Tommy Haas and Juan Carlos Ferrero in the latter stages.

"It''s fun that it''s not always just the young guys and me," Federer told reporters after dispatching another senior member of the last-eight brigade, 30-year-old Ivo Karlovic, 6-3 7-5 7-6.

"I mean, sure it''s cool once in a while, but I still like to play the guys who I used to play when I came up and who were my main rivals for many years.

"I''m very happy that so many guys have made it through to the second week, to the quarter-final stages and obviously we''ll have Andy (Roddick) or Lleyton going through."

All that stands between Federer and a seventh successive Wimbledon final is the oldest of them all, the revitalized 31-year-old Haas.

The German''s resurgence -- which saw him land the grasscourt warm-up event in Halle -- began when he stretched Federer to five-sets in the fourth round of the French Open last month.

"In Paris, it was brutal," the five-times Wimbledon champion said of the victory where he had to come from two sets down to keep alive his hopes of a first Roland Garros title.

"He''s had a rough few years behind him. But it''s so nice to see him back.

"He''s always been one of the best ball strikers in the game. I think he''s really gotten his game together again after some tough injuries."

But if Haas was looking for advice on how to stop Federer`s march toward a record 15th grand slam title, he should probably avoid asking Karlovic.

Asked if anyone could halt the world number two, the towering Croat said simply: "This year, honestly, no."

Given the opportunity to blame nerves or glaring sunshine for his unblemished service record in the tournament lasting all of 11 minutes, Karlovic could just offer the same conclusion.

"It is only because he is better than everybody else. That''s it," he said.

(Editing by Miles Evans)