LONDON (AP) – For two sets in Wimbledon’s fourth round on Monday, defending champion Novak Djokovic was in serious trouble, unable to solve 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Kevin Anderson’s big serve.
Djokovic dropped both of those sets, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6), then began working his way back into the match. He took the next two sets, 6-1, 6-4, to force a fifth, before play was suspended a little after 9 p.m. because of darkness.
The two men will return to Court 1 at 1 p.m. Tuesday and play one set that will determine whether the No. 1-seeded Djokovic of Serbia reaches his 25th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal or No. 14 Anderson of South Africa wins a fourth-round match at a major for the first time in seven tries during his career.
Wimbledon is the only Slam that schedules all 16 men’s and women’s fourth-round matches on the same day, and 15 were completed this time.
Reigning U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic, who beat the last American man in the field, wild-card entry Denis Kudla, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, will need to wait to find out whether he will next face Djokovic or Anderson in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.