Switzerland's Roger Federer leaves court for treatment during his match against Belgium's Xavier Malisse. Photo credit:Stephen Pond/PA Wire.

Wimbledon round four: Federer beat Malisse 7-6 (7-1), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3

World number three and six-time champion Roger Federer has shrugged off injury concerns as he overcame a back complaint to reach the Wimbledon quarter final.

The world number three beat Xavier Malisse 7-6 (7-1), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in round four but had eight minutes of treatment during the opening set.

“My back is OK, it started to feel better as the match went on,” Federer told the BBC.

“It come and goes. When you play on tour for over 15 years the back does hurt at times, you just hope it doesn’t come in a big match. It was scary, but the treatment was a big help.”

Federer also admitted that he had the luck of the weather on his side.

“I’m very pleased that I came through, the rain delay helped me,” added Federer. “I had to apologise to Xavier, it’s a freak thing that happened.

“I’ve been doing exercises for years. I have a pretty good record with being injury free, so if this is the worst then I’m happy. I should be back fine on Wednesday.”