Convalescent crew make their mark in quarters

LONDON (Reuters) - Thank-you notes will be pouring through the letterboxes of orthopedic surgeons and physios after the walking wounded took over Wimbledon on Monday.

Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Tommy Haas, all players who have spent far more time than they would have liked on the treatment table, rolled back the years to reach the quarter-finals of the grasscourt grand slam.

On a day of "senior moments," they were joined by the 30-year-old Ivo Karlovic, making the last eight of a grand slam tournament for the first time in a 10-year professional career.

With the seasoned Roger Federer and Andy Roddick also winning their fourth-round matches, the only quarter-finalists closer to their roaring twenties than their flagging thirties are Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, both aged 22.

The remarkable names among the "elite eight" are Hewitt, Haas and wildcard Ferrero -- not so much the comeback kids as the recuperating crocks.

Hewitt, the lone Australian in the men's draw, won Wimbledon as a brash 21-year-old back in 2002 and was twice the year-ending world number one.

Those days seem a long time ago now, after toe, rib and hip injuries led to a dramatic slide down the rankings.

His latest Wimbledon campaign seemed to be over on Monday as he fell two sets behind against Czech Radek Stepanek but, helped by a rain delay, he played through a thigh strain to clinch a 4-6 2-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 comeback win.

"I've always been fit enough and hungry enough to keep fighting and have that never-say-die attitude," said Hewitt, who is looking forward to a match against Roddick.

"Today I had to get more treatment during the rain delay. I was able to see my physio, as well, obviously in the locker room. He knows my body as well as anyone. I have a lot more trust in him knowing what's going on."

Ferrero's best days had also seemed to be behind him as the 2003 French Open champion slipped out of the top 50 last year.

PIPE AND SLIPPERS

But the 29-year-old Spaniard, taking to grass like slightly older men take to their slippers, built on his run to the semi-finals at Queen's to seal a last-eight place at Wimbledon with a 7-6 6-3 6-2 win over French eighth seed Gilles Simon.

He will next face Murray, the man who beat him in the semi-finals at Queen's, and he will at least have one advantage over the world number three.

"I'm not going to be short of experience," said Ferrero, who is the first men's wildcard to reach the quarter-finals here since Goran Ivanisevic, the eventual champion in 2001.

"Murray will have everyone supporting him but I have been around long enough to know how to focus on my own game."

Haas, who broke both his ankles as a teenager, missed the 2003 season with a shoulder injury and had further shoulder surgery in 2007, seemed surprised to be in the last eight.

The 31-year-old German, once ranked as high as second in the world, won his first title on grass at Halle earlier this month and on Monday beat Igor Andreev in straight sets.

"It's crazy," said Haas, who next plays Djokovic. "A few months ago I could not have believed that I'd be here.

"But it's a very nice feeling. I always hoped I could have a good Wimbledon."

(Editing by Miles Evans)