Andre Agassi [ Images ], darling of the New York crowd, meets world number one Roger Federer [ Images ] in a mouthwatering quarter-final at the U.S. Open on Wednesday as the year's final Grand Slam bursts into life.

Sixth seed Agassi is bidding to become the oldest men's champion since Australia's [ Images ] Ken Rosewall in 1970, while Federer is hoping to win his third Grand Slam title of the year, a feat not achieved since Sweden's Mats Wilander in 1988.

The pair have played six times, with the score tied at 3-3, but Swiss Federer has won their last three encounters, including one on the hard court of Indian Wells earlier this year.

"This is a big occasion for me," Federer said. "It's a quarter-final everybody has been looking forward to.

"I'll have to go against his power, his attacking game, by playing aggressive myself. This is the game I like to play so I think it's going to be a good contrast."

Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Briton Tim Henman [ Images ] takes on 22nd seed Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia, with both men bidding for a place in their first U.S. Open semi-final.

The women's semi-final line-up will be completed on Wednesday, with fifth seed Lindsay Davenport [ Images ] taking on unseeded Japanese Shinobu Asagoe.

Nadia Petrova [ Images ], the 14th seed, who beat top seed and defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne in round four, meets fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova [ Images ], the ninth seed.