Swiss Roger Federer battled bad weather in the first set, becoming the oldest player in the professional era to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals, by defeating Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
Federer, who will turn 40 next month, was tied 5-5 in the first set before the rain fell and the two players returned to the dressing room.
After a 20-minute pause to seal the roof of the center court, Sonego again committed a double fault under the floodlights to lose his serve.
This gave Federer an opportunity to impose his word in the rest of the match, to win three sets without a response, separated by 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.
“It was an amazing difference between playing in the air and under a closed roof,” said Federer, who reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the 18th time to extend his record.
“The atmosphere was difficult, and after the first set I felt that I controlled the match better. I feel very excited to be in the quarter-finals,” the Swiss veteran added.
The former world number one, who underwent two knee surgeries in 2020, added: “When you are where I am, with this year I’ve been in, there are a lot of question marks about my position. You have to prove again to yourself that you can.”
In his 54th appearance in the quarter-finals at one of the four Grand Slams, to extend his record, the eight-times Wimbledon champion will meet Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, the world number two, or Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
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