Roger Federer has weathered a first-set storm to become the oldest man in the ‘Open Era’ to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a 7-5 6-4 6-2 win over Italian 23rd seed Lorenzo Sonego.
The Swiss, who will turn 40 next month, was deadlocked at 5-5 in the first set, with Sonego down breakpoint, when a torrential downpour sent the players back into the locker room.
The roof was closed over a soggy and windswept Centre Court and the 20-minute disruption did Sonego no favours, as he immediately produced a double fault under the floodlights to surrender his serve.
That provided Federer with the spark he needed to motor through the rest of the contest, after converting only two of the nine breakpoints he had earned during the first set.
In his record-extending 18th Wimbledon quarter-final - and 58th across all four Grand Slams - the eight-time All England Club champion will meet either Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev or Poland's Hubert Hurkacz, whose match will resume on Wednesday (NZ time).
TITLE DEFENCE ALIVE
Meanwhile, top seed Novak Djokovic continued his run, dismantling the challenge of Chile's Cristian Garin with a 6-2 6-4 6-2 victory to advance to the last eight and keep his title defence intact at the grasscourt major.
The world No.1, who won the last two men's singles titles on the manicured grass at the All England Club, will play his 50th Grand Slam quarter-final, when he next faces either Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev or Hungary's Marton Fucsovics.
Djokovic won the first eight points of the match and never took his foot off the pedal during the one hour 48 minutes, dominating from the baseline and the net against the Chilean.
The Serbian lost only 13 points on his own serve and broke his opponent five times to stay on course for a 20th Grand Slam title that would tie him with great rivals Federer and Rafa Nadal.
A sixth Wimbledon trophy would also move the 34-year-old closer to the ‘Golden Slam’, with the Tokyo Olympics and the US Open to be played on his favourite hardcourts.
GRASSCOURT PEDIGREE
The serve was not at full throttle and the strokes were often rather wayward, but that did not stop Barty from reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time, with a 7-5 6-3 win over French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Long tipped as a future Wimbledon champion, the Australian world No.1 has had to wait nine long years since making her main draw debut in 2012 to finally put herself in the last eight at the grasscourt major.
Facing an opponent who, until last Tuesday, had never played a main-draw singles match on turf, Barty was expected to easily make her greater grasscourt pedigree count.
She will next face either British wildcard Emma Raducanu or fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanovic for a place in the semi-finals.
