Djokovic fightback halted by bad light as Wimbledon enters second week

Serbia's Novak Djokovic's pursuit of a quarter-final spot was halted by bad light at Wimbledon ©AFP/Getty Images

Serbia's Novak Djokovic fought back from two sets down against South Africa's Kevin Anderson but the defending Wimbledon champion's pursuit of the a quarter-final place was delayed by bad light at the All England Club tonight.

Anderson began the match in blistering style, combining his big serve with strong ground strokes.

He was still forced to win the set on a tie-break as he took advantage of an uncharacteristic double fault by Djokovic, taking advantage of a second set point to move into an early lead.

It was the first set Djokovic had lost a set at this year's tournament and he soon found himself a break down in the second, Anderson making the most of his momentum in front of the Court One crowd.

Djokovic broke back to force a tie-break but it proved to be the same outcome as the opening set as his South African opponent held his nerve to win it 8-6 and take a giant stride towards the last eight phase of the Wimbledon for the first time since 2008.

The match suddenly swung back towards the world number one, though, as Djokovic broke twice within quick succession to claim the third set 6-1, then leveling the match by winning the fourth 6-4 after breaking Anderson's serve once more.

The only relief for Anderson is that, due to bad light and Court One not having a roof over it, play was abandoned for the day which could provide him with a chance to regroup tomorrow.

American Serena Williams comfortably beat her sister Venus to move into the last eight of the women's draw ©AFP/Getty Images

While Djokovic's tie is still ongoing, seven-time champion Roger Federer of Switzerland breezed through to the quarter-finals, recording a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, demolition of Argentina's Roberto Bautista.

His compatriot Stan Wawrinka also claimed a dominant win, beating Belgium's David Goffin 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Britain's Andy Murray is also through to the quarter-finals for the eighth consecutive year after beating Croatia's Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

In the women's draw, America's Serena Williams continued her push for a fourth straight Grand Slam title by defeating sister Venus 6-4, 6-3.

Williams' arch-rival, Russia's Maria Sharapova, meanwhile, kept her hopes of a first Wimbledon title since 2004 alive, beating Kazakhstan's Zarina Diyas 6-4, 6-4.

The vast majority of women's seeds advanced to tomorrow's quarter-finals in comfortable fashion.

The seed Agnieszka Radwańska of Poland progressed with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Serbia's Jelena Jankovic, who had put out the defending champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, just two days ago.

Fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki was surprisingly beaten by Spain's Garbiñe Muguruza, however, with the number 20 seed claiming a 6-4, 6-4 victory.