Cilic can upset the applecart

– Lleyton Hewitt, the last man to win Wimbledon outside the big four, tipped Roger Federer (above) to face Andy Murray in this year’s final, though Marin Cilic could break their stranglehold, he said.

Hewitt won Wimbledon in 2002, before Federer won the first of his seven titles, interspersed with three wins by Novak Djokovic and two each from Rafael Nadal and Murray.

The Australian former world No 1 said Murray and Federer were both experts at managing their bodies and stepping up a level when pushed.

But the 36-year-old did not rule out Croatia’s seventh seed Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, causing an upset.

“Murray and Federer are my two favourites. Novak is going through the draw nicely and quietly but Cilic has come through unscathed and his section of the draw opens up with Nadal out,” Hewitt told reporters.

“Federer’s looking pretty good. I wouldn’t rule Murray out. I’d love to see that final.”

In today’s quarterfinals, defending champion Murray faces Sam Querrey and Nadal’s conqueror Gilles Muller plays Cilic, while in the bottom half of the draw, Federer takes on Milos Raonic, while Djokovic faces Tomas Berdych.

Djokovic overcame an injury scare to reach the last-eight for the ninth time yesterday with a 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win over France’s Adrian Mannarino. The 30-yearold Djokovic needed treatment on his right shoulder after the fifth game of the third set and a medical timeout at 4-3 to treat the same problem.

Hewitt said it was extraordinary to think that when 35-yearold Federer took over from him in 2003, he would still be competing for the Wimbledon title 14 years later.

“He’s not playing that different. This year, the way he played in Australia was pretty incredible – after six months out he can flick a switch and start lighting it up again,” Hewitt said of Federer’s title run in Melbourne in January.

“He looks after his body so well. Roger has an uncanny knack of being able to step it up when he needs to,” he said. –

London