WIMBLEDON, England - It had to happen sometime, at some tournament. Their lives intersected under dire circumstances off the court, and Andy Roddick and Sjeng Schalken were bound to face each other on one sooner or later.
Roddick helped about a dozen people, including fellow players, escape a fatal hotel fire in May before the Italian Open. One, Schalken, will be his quarterfinal opponent at Wimbledon.
The second-seeded Roddick reached the final eight at the All England Club by beating Alexander Popp 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 Monday. No. 12 Schalken made it that far for the third straight year, ending No. 30 Vince Spadea's surprising run 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
"Any time you share a very traumatic situation, and kind of share that fear with someone, and get out of it - there's always something there," Roddick said. "I don't know what that is, but there is kind of something between us now. By the same token, we're both going to try to win a Wimbledon quarterfinal."
They and other pros were in Rome the weekend before the start of a clay-court tournament when their hotel caught fire, killing three guests. Schalken was on the seventh floor, Roddick on the sixth. So Roddick waited on his balcony, with outstretched arms, to catch Schalken when he jumped down. Both used fire truck ladders to reach the ground.
Roddick and Schalken knew each other before the fire and now have grown closer, practicing together the day before the start of Wimbledon. But they haven't squared off in a match that counted since the fire; Roddick is 4-1 against Schalken, including three straight victories.
"I hope he's thinking about that a little bit, and taking it easy on me. He didn't do that the last three times," Schalken said. "Before and after, we'll be good friends, and on the court, we'll try to win."
If their match Wednesday is the most intriguing, the best quarterfinal on paper pits the Grand Slam tournament's past two champions: Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt topped No. 9 Carlos Moya 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3).
The other men's quarterfinals are No. 5 Tim Henman, who eliminated 2003 runnerup Mark Philippoussis, against unseeded Mario Ancic, and No. 10 Sebastien Grosjean against unseeded Florian Mayer.
Federer stretched his win streak on grass to 21 matches, and his successful holds of serve at the All England Club to 89 games with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5) victory over 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic.
Karlovic pounded 95 aces through his first three matches. He managed 14 Monday. An explanation?
"I was playing against Federer, who returns unbelievable," said Karlovic, who upset Hewitt in the first round last year.
Through four matches, Federer has dealt with six break points, saving all. That's a major reason for his streak on grass, which would reach 24 matches if he wins the tournament, one better than Pete Sampras' best run on the surface.
"I have to say, every match on grass has been quite unbelievable. I've always played great tennis," Federer said. "This is good, looking ahead, because from here on, only tough opponents will come my way."
For the women, 1999 Wimbledon champion Lindsay Davenport beat No. 12 Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 6-4. She faces 19-year-old Karolina Sprem, who knocked off a seeded player for the third straight match, beating No. 21 Magdalena Maleeva to follow wins over Venus Williams and No. 32 Meghann Shaughnessy.
