Roger Federer finally rediscovered some of the graceful touches that has helped him to six Wimbledon titles on Friday when he eased past Arnaud Clement 6-2 6-4 6-2 in their third-round clash.
After two decidedly un-Federer-like performances so far this campaign the Swiss maestro hit the ground running from the off against a man who had beaten him in both their previous grand slam meetings.
Federer broke the French world number 86 in the opening game and reeled off the first two sets in little over an hour, and settled it after 95 minutes when the Frenchman netted.
He will play Austrian 16th seed Jurgen Melzer for a place in the quarter-finals.
Andy Roddick blasted his way into the fourth round after overcoming the potentially dangerous German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5 6-7 6-3 6-3.
Kohlscheriber, the 29th seed, has a game well suited to grass and the two battled out two tight first sets. The German recovered from 4-5 0-40 in the second to save that game and claim the tie-break on his first set point.
Roddick, who lost his third final to Roger Federer 12 months ago, retained his focus the better and sealed victory with another thunderbolt ace in just under three hours.
As always, Roddick's serve was his most devastating weapon. He served 28 aces to just 13 from the determined German who refused to be bowed by the American's big guns.
But as the sun set over Wimbledon, Roddick finished off in style, thumping down a 137mph ace to clinch a match against Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun for a place in the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere exhausted American John Isner, whose epic first-round match broke all tennis records at 11 hours and five minutes, was beaten in just 74 minutes by Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker.
Isner held serve 69 consecutive times in the final set of his record-breaking three-day match against Nicolas Mahut which ended on Thursday, but lost his first four service games in his second-round match at the All England Club.
He called a medical timeout for treatment to his neck and shoulders after De Bakker powered to the opener 6-0 and seemed weary and off the pace throughout the encounter on Court Five.
He consulted with a trainer at most of the changes of ends, and ate bananas and bars to try and boost his energy levels but De Bakker completed a 6-0 6-3 6-2 rout.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic showed the full array of shots needed to go deep into Wimbledon's second week against Albert Montanes on Friday, crushing the Spaniard 6-1 6-4 6-4 in the third round.
Djokovic, whose one semi-final here is a poor return on his fine all-round game, never took his foot off the throttle against the 28th seed, racing through the opener in just 26 minutes with some neat drops and athletic volleys.
Another blockbusting serve, he struck 11 aces, settled it in Djokovic's favour after an hour and 41 minutes when Montanes spooned his backhand return wide.
The third seed now plays 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt, who bludgeoned his way into the fourth round with a dogged 6-3 7-6 6-4 victory over the Frenchman Gael Monfils
Hewitt, on fire since breaking his 15-match losing streak against Roger Federer in the pre-Wimbledon tournament at Halle, served superbly and bossed the gangling 21st seed in the longer rallies.
The Australian, winning his 101st match on grass, lost just three points on his serve in the first set. The second was decided in a nervy tiebreak strewn with errors. Monfils had three set points before Hewitt prevailed 11-9.
Hewitt raced to a 4-1 lead in the third before Monfils pulled back to 4-4 and had a break point for 5-4 before Hewitt refocused and confirmed his place in the last 16.
