Six-time former Wimbledon champion Roger Federer battled a stiff back and a rain break to beat Belgian Xavier Malisse 7-6(1), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 for the 850th match win of his career on Monday and made it to his 33rd straight Grand Slam championship quarter-final. Federer did not look in his flawless touch but he did manage to earn the victory in the end and now he will take on World No. 33 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia for a place in the last four. The 26th seeded Russian advanced into his first Wimbledon quarter-final on his 12th appearance at the All England Club on Monday after earning a hard-fought victory over  Uzbekistani Denis Istomin in four hours and 16 minutes with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5 scoreline.

Gunning for his seventh Wimbledon title, Roger Federer has a tremendous 43-6 win-loss record for the season. Federer’s consistency is just superb on tour and it appears special as the Swiss has certainly passed his prime, but he is still a force to be reckoned with and an inspiration for all those – who believe they still have to make their presence felt in the ever-competitve world of tennis. Federer has also claimed four titles this season. Though, he has not claimed a Grand Slam title in more than two years now, but he is also one of the favourites to clinch the title here.

Federer’s opponent is defiant Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who is currently ranked as World No. 33 in the ATP Rankings. The Russian has a good 23-9 win-loss record for the season and he has won a title in 2012. The Russian achieved his career’s highest ranking of World No. 8 in 2008 after producing some consistent wins on tour. The Russian had to miss-out some key tournaments in the last season due to recurring injuries, but now he is back and looking in a full-flow.

In head-to-head, Federer apparently leads with 13-0 against the Russian. Recently they met in Halle last month, where Federer topped the Russian in straight sets. Well, Youzhny will have to play out of skin this time to register his maiden victory against the Swiss.