Nadal, Murray roll into Wimbledon fourth round

Two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal and top-seeded Andy Murray put on strong performances on Friday to reach the fourth round at the All England Club in London.

Nadal fought off Karen Khachanov to extend his Grand Slam winning streak to 28 sets, while Murray, the defending champion from Scotland, outlasted Italy’s Fabio Fognini in a four-set slugfest to reach the fourth round for the 10th consecutive year.

Nadal, the fourth-seeded Spaniard, beat the No. 30 seed Russian 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (3) in two hours, 15 minutes for a place in the Round of 16.

“First set and a half, I think, was very, very well. Very happy (with) the way that I played,” Nadal said in a television interview after walking off Centre Court. “Then it was a little bit tougher. I think I stopped a little bit with the legs and he started to hit stronger, but he’s still a tough opponent and it’s impossible to win easy.”

On Monday, Nadal will next face No. 16 seed Gilles Muller, who defeated Britain’s Aljaz Bedene 7-6 (4), 7-5, 6-4. Muller hit 19 aces — for a tournament-leading 72 in three matches — to knock out Bedene in two hours, 27 minutes.

Muller, from Luxembourg, beat Nadal at the All England Club in 2005 before the Spaniard won in 2011.

“He’s a specialist on grass,” Nadal said of Muller. “Probably his best surface, without a doubt.”

Said Bedene of his defeat: “Every time I give my best till the end. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out today. I wasn’t playing my best tennis. He’s playing a little bit different, a unique style with his lefty good serve, great slice. I just didn’t find my rhythm today. It wasn’t easy.”

The 31-year-old Nadal can take over from Murray as the top-ranked player in the world if he reaches the final. It would move Nadal to No. 1 for the first time since June 2014.

Nadal broke the 21-year-old Khachanov’s serve three times in the first set as he completely dominated his opponent. The second set was a tighter affair, with Khachanov still being broken in the third game.

Nadal, who captured his record 10th French Open title last month, saved a set point in the third to force a tie-break. The victory means Nadal has not dropped a set in his past 10 Grand Slam matches.

“I think I played well in the important moments,” Nadal said. “In the tie-break, I think I played a little bit better than him. It is always better when the sun is out there. The conditions become a little bit more drier, and the court is more firm. It’s better obviously for me. It’s always good to be in the second week. I hope the weather continues like this.”

Murray followed Nadal on Centre Court and the two-time Wimbledon champ dispatched Fognini 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory.

“The end of the match was tense. It was an up and down match, I didn’t feel like it was the best tennis at times but I managed to get through,” Murray told the BBC.

“It was getting dark towards the end and I was probably thinking a bit about that. We would have had to go off for the roof to go on, so that would have meant a change in conditions. I’m pleased to get off in four.”

Fognini appeared on pace to force a fifth set when he opened up a 5-2 lead in the fourth. But Murray turned his game up another gear and won five consecutive games to close out the match.

Murray, who had 14 aces, staved off five set points in the fourth set while winning the grueling two-hour, 39-minute match.

Murray faces Benoit Paire of France in the fourth round. Paire advanced by eliminating Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

In an earlier men’s match, ninth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan was upset in the third round, losing to 18th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-3.

“I couldn’t maintain my level high enough,” Nishikori said. “I think he served well every set. Was really tough time (on) my return game.”

Bautista Agut reached the fourth round at Wimbledon for the second time, also doing so at the Grand Slam event in 2015. He lost all eight previous times he got to the Round of 16 at majors.

Bautista Agut will next face No. 7 seed Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion from Croatia.

Cilic advanced by beating American Steve Johnson, the 26th seed, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Cilic lost in the Wimbledon quarterfinals each of the past three years.

The match between 12th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and 24th-seeded American Sam Querrey was suspended due to darkness. Querrey holds a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-5 lead and pleaded to play one more game but the request was denied.

Also, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson defeated Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (3).