Andre Agassi, darling of the New York crowd, meets world number one Roger Federer 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 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 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 taking on unseeded Japanese Shinobu Asagoe.

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