Lleyton Hewitt easily beat Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands with a 6-3 6-3 score, on Wednesday and reached the quarterfinals of the Gerry Weber Open. 

German Philipp Petzschner has already made it into the last eight after defeating Viktor Troicki of Serbia in straight sets 7-6 (5) 6-3.

Hewitt said after the match - "I felt a bit of stiffness in my neck when I went back for a smash, and I didn't want it to get worse." He further added that "but I was able to keep going, which was good."

Hewitt will meet German Andreas Beck in the quarterfinals, who rallied past compatriot Nicolas Kiefer 6-2 3-6 7-6 (4).

Hewitt is feeling confident ahead of Wimbledon, which starts June 21. Hewitt won the Wimbledon title in 2002. The Australian said, "I think I can do some damage if I get the right draw, grass is possibly my favorite surface, which is not something I thought I would say when I started on the tour."