WIMBLEDON, England -- Andre Agassi is tiptoeing through Wimbledon, barely noticed in the melee of fallen seeds and sentimental winners.

On Monday, attention was focused on Pete Sampras's epic five-set defeat by Roger Federer while Agassi was next door on court one quietly dispatching Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 7-5, 7-5.

In the quarterfinals on Wednesday the world No. 2 meets Frenchman Nicolas Escude, another unpredicted winner of a five-set fourth round duel against fifth seed Lleyton Hewitt.

Agassi, at 31 the oldest man left in the draw, has yet to drop a set in his Wimbledon campaign and is now the 6-4 favorite to win his second men's title.

He has gone about his work ruthlessly, not allowing his concentration to wander however lowly his opponent.

But it will get harder as the final nears and the spotlight has swung to the charismatic American now Sampras is no more.

"My next match is going to be asking more of me than I've had to come up with so far," he said after the Kiefer victory.

Against Kiefer, Agassi's killer return was on full show and he punished the German with precise passing shots if ever he ventured to the net. Warming to his task, the 1992 champion looked as though he was reaching the sort of form that won him the Australian Open this year.

Though a natural showman, Agassi is unruffled by the lack of attention on him so far.

"There's a lot to talk about out there (besides me)," he said.

"I just want to make sure I'm executing my game and getting better as the tournament goes on. So far I've managed to do that. Those are all good signs."

With Hewitt out of the reckoning, the bottom half of the draw has opened up for Agassi.

If he beats Escude, as he should using all the years of experience that Hewitt lacks, he is scheduled to meet his toughest test in third seed Pat Rafter in the semifinals.

The personable Australian is one of two sentimental favorites after he lost the final last year and has said, after countless injuries, this might be his last season on the tour.

To have a go at Agassi, Rafter must first overcome another stealthy advancer -- 10th seed Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, who has spent most of his time on the outside courts and like Agassi has yet to drop a set.

The second sentimental choice for public and players alike is Croat Goran Ivanisevic, three times a runner-up here. His rank had plummeted to such an extent he needed a wild card to enter.

But his devastating serve is back to its best at just the right time, and he swept aside serve-and-volley specialist Greg Rusedski on his way to the quarterfinals.

"It's great to see that he has a lot of tennis left in him," Agassi said. "Once I'm out, I'll probably root for him to win just because I believe his career has deserved that."

Ivanisevic meets U.S. Open champion Marat Safin in a top half of the draw blown apart by Sampras's shock departure.

Federer has a quarterfinal appointment with Britain's sixth seed Tim Henman who beat American Todd Martin 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 3-6, 6-2 in a game interrupted by bad light on Monday.

A disappointed Sampras agreed Federer, a 19-year-old from Switzerland could win the tournament.

"He's already proven he's a great player. He's got a good chance to maybe go all the way," Sampras said.

And Sampras's great rival agrees.

"Seems to me like Federer is the one to worry about now," Agassi said.