Having been taken all the way by Gilles Simon in round two, the Swiss star has spent more time on court than most of his title rivals but he was simply happy to still be in the tournament after setting up a last-eight clash against countryman Stanislas Wawrinka or Andy Roddick.

“I’m satisfied I’m still in the tournament.” he said afterwards.

“I’m in another quarter-final and have a good chance to make it to the semis again, so I’m very pleased. It’s been a tough first week with a bit of heat the last couple of matches I played in.

“I am pretty happy with how I’m hitting the ball.

“I had a tricky draw and that’s why I’m happy I was able to beat all those guys and give myself a chance to get into the second week.”

Third seed Novak Djokovic advanced with a hugely impressive win against Nicolas Almagro.

The Serbian, the champion here in 2008, withstood everything the big-hitting Spaniard could throw at him before sprinting through the third set to complete a 6-3 6-4 6-0 victory.

Djokovic has flown under the radar through the first week in Melbourne with all the focus falling on Rafael Nadal and Federer and, while his displays until today would not have unduly worried the big two, the third seed found his range today.

“It was a very good match. The serve was great today, and it’s important to raise the level of performance before the quarter-finals,” he said.

“Now the opponents are very difficult and matches are tough and unpredictable. It was a great match for me today.

“I had a tough opponent, a big hitter, and I could test a couple things in my game: my patience and aggression.

“I’m happy and feeling good energy-wise. I didn’t spend that much time on the court in the opening week.

“I have the game to win a grand slam, I just have to believe in myself and be mentally strong.”

Djokovic will meet Tomas Berdych next after the sixth seed crushed Spain’s Fernando Verdasco with surprising ease 6-4 6-2 6-3.

The 2010 Wimbledon finalist committed just eight unforced errors in the contest and admitted afterwards he was delighted with the quality of his performance.

“It’s definitely one of the parts of my game that I was trying to improve on, that I can still be aggressive on court but without too many mistakes,” he said.

“That’s the way I need to go. And to do it in the fourth round of a grand slam with an opponent like this is even better for me and proved that all the hard work I have done with my coach is working. I hope I can keep it up.”