Old guard of Federer and Nadal are wary of Murray

However, this year has seen Djokovic win the Australian Open and rise to world No 2, while losing just one match, and Murray remains a threat to the established big three.

It was at Melbourne Park in January, after losing to Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, that Federer heard it suggested that he and Nadal were coming under serious threat from Djokovic and Murray.

“Let’s talk in six months,” was his reply at the time, Federer bristling at the suggestion he might be a fading force after one semi-final loss.

The man from Basle performed supremely well – Federer at his best – to reach the French Open final last month, before losing to Nadal in a match which could have swung either way.

Now Federer can see himself and his great rival contesting another Wimbledon final, but should it be Murray and Djokovic battling it out for glory on Sunday the most successful player in the history of men’s tennis will accept the state of the game is changing.

“We’ve got to wait and see how this turns out,” he said. “Because, again, it could be a repeat of the Djokovic-Murray final and then I was wrong. If it’s not the case, then I was right.”

Federer is not likely to be too affected though, whatever the outcome at the weekend.

“At the end of the day, I don’t care if I’m wrong or right. I know where my game is at. I know where Rafa’s game is at,” he said.

“I just struggle when it goes from one extreme to the next.

“We’ve all been playing well, I think the top four or five guys really, for a long time.

“I think it’s exciting for tennis. Trying to talk it down or talk about changes, I think it’s nice that we’re all playing well at the same time.”

This year is Federer’s final chance to win Wimbledon before turning 30, but he is showing no signs of slowing up this fortnight, dropping just one set, on a tie-break to Mikhail Youzhny, on his way through to a quarter-final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The tussle with Tsonga today gives Federer the chance to move closer towards yet another grand slam final.

Since becoming a father to twins Charlene Riva and Myla Rose shortly after landing his sixth Wimbledon title in 2009, Federer has won just one slam – last year’s Australian Open.

Murray is three victories away from breaking his grand slam duck and Spain’s Feliciano Lopez should not provide too much of an obstacle in the quarter-finals today.

The 29-year-old produced one of the best performances of the tournament to see off Andy Roddick in straight sets in the third round and is a talented grass-court player, but Murray has beaten him in all four of their previous meetings. Lopez also had a very draining afternoon on Monday when he came from two sets down to defeat Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot to reach the last eight at Wimbledon for the third time.

Things were much easier for Murray, who might have expected a tougher time against 17th seed Richard Gasquet but, after a tight first set, cruised through 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 6-2.

The world No 4 is happy with his progress so far, particularly the way he battled past Ivan Ljubicic in round three under the Centre Court roof on Friday.

However, he knows he will have to continue to serve as well as he did yesterday, with Nadal looming in the last four.

Murray said: “You just need to keep improving each match. I think the match in the third round, for me, was a really good test. It was a tough match. I thought both of us played well.

“It all comes down to taking your chances when you play against the best players. I played against Rafa at the French Open and I had many break-point opportunities, but I wasn’t able to take them.

“For me, serving is very important. If I serve very well then I’ll have a chance because my return is normally consistent. I normally give myself quite a few chances to break during matches. If I can be solid on serve, that will make a difference.”

Nadal last night insisted he is fit and ready to resume his title defence, after he suffered a foot injury in his fourth-round victory over Juan Martin Del Potro.

Any doubts that the world No 1 would not be able to take part in today’s quarter-final against Mardy Fish were dispelled though when he came through a full training session without displaying any sign of discomfort.

The Spaniard, 25, wore tape on the injured left foot, but comfortably came through an hour’s session on the Wimbledon practice courts last night, where he hit with Welsh youngster Evan Hoyt.

Nadal laughed and joked with Hoyt and the 100-strong crowd that had gathered to watch them in practice, and did not grimace once.

The Spanish Tennis Federation said an MRI scan that Nadal underwent revealed only minor swelling on a tendon in his foot, rather than a broken bone as was initially suspected, and claimed there was no risk in him competing against Fish.

Nadal himself was confident that he would be fine for his last-eight clash with Fish, saying: “My foot is okay.”