TEMPO.CO, London - After three hours and two minutes of twilight combat, Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson were forced off court with their last 16 clash tantalisingly poised at two sets all and their Wimbledon audience begging for more.
The match was halted as dusk closed in after world number one and defending champion Djokovic had fought back from two sets down having been thoroughly outplayed by a fired up Anderson before rediscovering his A-game.
It was a remarkable conclusion to a day when a whiff of predictability had permeated the hectic schedule in men's and women's draws.
Serena had earlier ousted big sister Venus in the battle of the Williams siblings, while Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka had claimed comfortable victories.
In fact, the action elsewhere was remarkably tame in comparison to the ebb and flow of the drama on Court One.
Few had predicted Anderson would be able to mix it with Djokovic, except maybe the Serb himself who said the statuesque 2.03 metre South African was in the form of his life heading into the match.
He was not wrong. Within a short time he was two sets down as Anderson served superbly and happily went toe-to-toe with Djokovic from the back of the court, a tactic with which few succeed.
The first two sets ended with Anderson edging nervy tiebreaks, before Djokovic revved into gear storming through the third 6-1 and clinching the fourth 6-4 to leave the match in the balance and the crowd wanting more.
Sadly for them, the officials disagreed and boos rang around the arena as play was suspended until Tuesday.
The closeness of the encounter was in contrast to much of what had gone before.
The clash between the Williams sisters, who have won 10 Wimbledon singles titles, should have been the day's box-office smash, but drama was in short supply and the ending all too predictable.
REUTERS
