LONDON: Aisam ul-Haq and Rojer Jean-Julien moved into the Wimbledon third round beating America Bobby Reynolds and South African Izak Van Der Merwe in four sets 3-6, 7-6(7/5), 6-4, 6-4.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer fought off an inspired Julien Benneteau, coming back from two sets down 4-6, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-1.

Benneteau, came out firing against the 16-time Grand Slam champion, breaking serve to clinch the first set and coming back from a break down to take the set in tie breaker.

Federer will now face unseeded Belgian Xavier Malisse for a place in the quarter-finals.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic avoided another Czech Republic Centre Court ambush when he reached the last 16 with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over veteran Radek Stepanek on Friday.

Top seed Djokovic, playing on the same court where Rafael Nadal had been stunned by world 100 Czech Lukas Rosol on Thursday, overcame dropping his first set of the tournament to see off 33-year-old Stepanek.

The Serb goes on to play compatriot Victor Troicki, who put out Argentine 15th seed Juan Monaco 7-5, 7-5, 6-3, for a place in the quarter-finals. Troicki will be playing in his first last 16 tie at Wimbledon.

World number one Maria Sharapova and four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters are on course for an emotional last eight clash at Wimbledon after breezing into the fourth round on Friday.

Sharapova cruised to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei despite blustery conditions on Court One playing havoc with her serve.

Clijsters, playing at Wimbledon for the last time, enjoyed an easier than expected path to the last 16 when breathing problems forced her 12th seeded Russian opponent Vera Zvonareva to quit.

Zvonareva, runner-up in the 2010 Wimbledon final, left Court One in tears after calling for a medical time-out midway through the second set.

She returned to play one more game but the breathing problem was still troubling her so she retired with 29-year-old Clijsters 6-3, 4-3 ahead.

Elsewhere, Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska ended Heather Watson's fairytale run with a ruthless 6-0, 6-2 victory in just 58 minutes.

Watson's win over Jamie Hampton in her previous match made the 20-year-old the first British woman to reach the third round for 10 years.