Quickfire Murray and Federer on course

By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON (Reuters) - Andy Murray and five-times champion Roger Federer charged headlong towards a Wimbledon final showdown on Wednesday while two of the game's wiliest campaigners were conspiring to gatecrash the party.

The top seeds recorded emphatic victories on another sun-baked day on Centre Court, as Tommy Haas stunned fourth seed Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick was the last man standing in a gripping four-hour gunfight with old foe Lleyton Hewitt.

Less than 48 hours after putting his mother, girlfriend, 15,000 Centre Court fans and millions of British television viewers through the wringer with his electrifying five-set win against Stanislas Wawrinka, Murray produced a no-nonsense 7-5 6-3 6-2 win over Juan Carlos Ferrero.

While the authoritative exhibition gave Murray a place in the last four at Wimbledon for the first time, the sight of all-conquering Federer at the tail-end of a grand slam is taken for granted these days.

The world number two reached his 21st successive major semi by dousing the fireworks of Croatian ace machine Ivo Karlovic 6-3 7-5 7-6.

"Twenty one in row, it's amazing. Means the world to me. It's been quite a streak and I'm happy it's still alive," said Federer, in hot pursuit of a record 15th major.

His rivals summed up the milestone as "ridiculous," "incredible," "almost impossible" and "the most impressive stat we'll see in tennis."

Federer's win may not have raised many eyebrows but Haas's 7-5 7-6 4-6 6-3 victory over Djokovic certainly provided the biggest shock of the men's tournament.