Seemingly no end to his record setting, Roger Federer has become the most prolific men's quarter-finalist in Wimbledon history with a brutal straight-sets dismissal of Grigor Dimitrov.
As his great rival Rafael Nadal sensationally crashed out of the tournament and Novak Djokovic had his fourth-round match suspended, Federer needed barely 90 minutes to join top-seeded titleholder Andy Murray in the last eight on Monday.
Federer and his copycat challenger were junior champions a decade apart at the All England Club, but the Swiss master was light years ahead of Dimitrov in class - if not style - in his 6-4 6-2 6-4 triumph.
He committed just 11 unforced errors and dropped serve only once in swatting aside the Bulgarian 13th seed for the sixth time in as many meetings.
His 15 appearances in the quarter-finals of tennis's showpiece surpass Jimmy Connors' open-era mark.
"It's very special. I'm very happy," Federer said.
He next faces sixth seed Milos Raonic, the Canadian who ousted the 18-times grand slam champion in last year's semi-finals after Federer fell awkwardly in the fifth set and suffered what proved a season-ending knee injury.
A year on, Federer feels a different player and ready to challenge for the title after crowning his extraordinary comeback - at age 35 - with a fifth Australian Open success and Indian Wells-Miami Masters double before freshening up for another grasscourt assault.
"I can look at this quarter-final in a totally relaxed fashion," Federer said.
"Physically, I'm not fighting anything like last year with my knee. I'm ready to go this afternoon if I have to, which is great.
"But I don't have to. I think that's a great bonus."
So too is the departure of Nadal after Luxembourg left-hander Gilles Muller sent shockwaves through the All England Club with a 6-3 6-4 3-6 4-6 15-13 defeat of the 15-times grand slam champion.
The four-hour, 48-minute epic forced officials to postpone Djokovic's fourth-round encounter with unseeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino until Tuesday.
Scheduled for Court 1, the match could have been moved to Centre Court but it would have caused an uproar from fans who'd queued all night to see the second-seeded Serbian superstar.
Raonic battled back from two sets to one down to deny rising German 10th seed Alexander Zverev his maiden grand slam quarter-final entry with a 4-6 7-5 4-6 7-4 6-1 escape.
Murray saw off Frenchman Benoit Paire 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-4 to qualify for his 10th consecutive quarter-final at his home slam.
Britain's two-time champion will continue his quest for a third crown against Sam Querrey after the big-serving American outlasted South Africa's Kevin Anderson 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-7 (11-13) 6-3.
Dark horse Marin Cilic progressed to his fourth straight Wimbledon quarter-final with an impressive 6-2 6-2 6-2 win over 18th seed Roberto Bautista-Agut.
Instead of Nadal, the 2014 US Open champion will play Muller for a spot in Friday's semi-finals.
Former finalist Tomas Berdych is also through to the last eight following a hard-fought 6-3 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory over Austrian eighth seed Dominic Thiem.
Berdych awaits the winner of the Djokovic-Mannarino clash.
MEN'S WIMBLEDON QUARTER-FINAL MATCH-UPS ON WEDNESDAY:
1-Andy Murray (GBR) v 24-Sam Querrey (USA)
16-Gilles Muller (LUX) V 7-Marin Cilic (CRO)
6-Milos Raonic (CAN) v 3-Roger Federer (SWI)
11-Tomas Berdych (CZE) v 2-Novak Djokovic (SRB) OR Adrian Mannarino (FRA)
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