Roddick, 24, could have been forgiven for flying home to America after his early exit from the French Open, but he decided to go straight to the English capital late last month and begin preparations for the grass court season.

The world number five enjoys playing on the lush lawns of west London, as his three Queen's titles and two Wimbledon final appearances prove. So it was an easy decision to forgo a return to Texas and instead practice and relax in one of his favourite cities.

He is already back in the old routine after beating Alex Bogdanovic on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals at Queen's and it would be no surprise if he mounted a serious challenge for Roger Federer's Wimbledon crown.

"It was a pretty easy decision," Roddick said. "I like it here in London. It's one of my favourite places and it's a pretty easy place for me to be.

"There's not much grass back in Texas and what there is the cows lay on and make a mess on, so it was a group decision to stick here.

"I went home after Rome so it's not like I was over here for a month and a half before the French Open.

"I thought I would get more practice here as well. There are more players over here and I've played top 50 players every day which is what I was looking for."

Roddick will face Croatian wild card Marin Cilic in the last eight and he is confident his game is progressing as he tunes up for the All-England Club Grand Slam later this month.

"I'm happy with where my game is," he said. "I played great in my first match and today I didn't have my best stuff but I got the win against a player who was playing well and that's a good sign."

Bogdanovic, 23, can take heart from the way he pushed one of the game's premier grass-court players to the limit. Roddick consoled his opponent at the net, telling him he could become a top player if he continued to produce performances like that and Bogdanovic agrees.

"It was definitely the best performance of my career," he said. "I played a great match. I knew I had to play better than I did against Jamie Baker in the last round but today was a different kind of pressure because I had nothing to lose.

"Andy said 'great stuff, if you keep going like this you are going to get up there pretty soon'.

"Matches like this are really going to help me get up to the top. In big matches you have to play your best tennis on big points and I'm working towards that.

"I feel like I'm more comfortable out there no matter who I'm playing."

Roddick sees no reason why Bogdanovic shouldn't crack the top 50 if he knuckles down and he said: "He should legitimatly aim for the top 50 by the end of the year. That is a very realistic goal and he can go from there.

"But he has to play like that on a weekly basis and not just in one tournament or one match. He showed what he is capable of doing and he has to recreate that more often."