French Open champion Rafael Nadal's challenge for a third Wimbledon title was ended by Luxembourg's Gilles Muller as the Spaniard succumbed 6-3 6-4 3-6 4-6 15-13 in a heart-pounding fourth-round classic on Monday.
The 31-year-old Nadal fought back from two sets down and saved four match points in a 135-minute minute fifth set in which he successfully served to stay alive nine times.
At the 10th time of asking, however, and with thousands of transfixed fans watching the drama unfold on the screen on the hill and on the edge of their seats on Court One, Nadal buckled under the relentless pressure exerted by an inspired Muller.
A miss-hit forehand gave Muller two more match points and this time he finished the job as a weary Nadal went long.
Sixteenth seed Muller, who served 30 aces and hit 95 winners, will play Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals.
"It's the win of his life"
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2017
- Gilles Muller celebrates a truly stunning result... #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/kXwY8mEsrU
The late finish meant Novak Djokovic's fourth round match against France's Adrian Mannarino was postponed until Tuesday.
Djokovic was due to follow Nadal on Court Number One but the Spaniard's defeat to Muller lasted four hours 47 minutes and made it impossible for the Serb's match to be completed before dark.
Defending champion Andy Murray is through to the Wimbledon quarter-finals after coming through an awkward encounter with Benoit Paire.
The Scot's serve was broken three times by his French opponent, but each time he rallied to eventually secure a 7-6 (7/1) 6-4 6-4 victory.
Murray twice recovered from a break down to win the opening set on a tie-break.
A limp Paire service game in the second gave Murray an immediate break, but he was pegged back at 3-3 and saved four break points before clinching the set.
The world number one continued to limp, chuntered away angrily at his box and argued with the umpire as he struggled to find his timing.
But he grabbed the crucial break at 4-4 in the third set before serving out to seal his passage into the last eight.
Some Murray magic on #ManicMonday...#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/zAaX9ITYwG
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2017
There Murray will meet Sam Querrey, who came through the battle of the big serves in five sets on Court 18.
The American lost the first set 7-5 to South Africa's Kevin Anderson, but levelled on a tie-break before taking the third with a rare break of serve.
A marathon tie-break in the fourth went Anderson's way, after he survived four match points, but he was broken again in the decider as Querrey won 5-7 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 6-7 (11/13) 6-3.
Over on Centre Court, Roger Federer sauntered through his match with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, winning in straight sets 6-4 6-2 6-4.
"I'm just so thrilled to be back in another quarter-finals."
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2017
- @rogerfederer #Wimbledon #ManicMonday pic.twitter.com/Bc1DA4uTT5
The seven-time champion has made serene progress through the early rounds and has yet to lose a single set in the tournament.
In the quarter-finals, he will meet the winner Milos Raonic who came through a testing five-setter against Alexander Zverev. The sixth seeded Canadian player blitzed his opponent in the deciding set to win 4-6 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-1.
The seventh seeded Croatian Cilic advanced to the quarter-finals as he disposed of the 18th seed Roberto Bautista with impressive ease this afternoon.
Cilic gave away just six games as he coasted to a straight sets victory, winning 6-2 6-2 6-2.
His former coach and the 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic prophesied that Cilic would win Wimbledon this year and he has progressed through the first four rounds without losing a single set.
Former finalist Thomas Berdych has advanced to the last eight after winning a gruelling five-setter against Austria's Dominic Thiem.
Berdych, who lost to Rafa Nadal in the 2010 final, came through 6-3 6-7(1) 6-3 3-6 6-3 in a two-hour-and-52 minute encounter on Court Three against the world number eight.
The Czech, who reached the quarter-finals for the fifth time, will next face either three-times champion Novak Djokovic or Adrian Mannarino
