Rafael Nadal moves to 4th round at Wimbledon in straight sets
Spaniard beats Karen Khachanov 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(3)
Rafael Nadal is on his way to the fourth round at Wimbledon, and he's three matches away from taking over as the No. 1 player in the world.
Nadal beat Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (3) Friday on Centre Court. If he reaches the final at the All England Club, the two-time Wimbledon champion will take over from Andy Murray as the top-ranked player in the world.
"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 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."
Nadal was playing in front of several sports stars seated in the Royal Box. One of them was Sergio Garcia, the Spanish golfer who was wearing his green Masters jacket.
"He's having an amazing season, especially with that victory, amazing victory in the Masters," Nadal said. "So, just great to see him and thanks for coming."
Nadal is having a pretty good season, too. He reached the Australian Open final, losing to Roger Federer, and won the French Open. The title at Roland Garros was his 10th at the clay-court major.
On Monday, Nadal will face Gilles Muller in the fourth round. Muller beat Nadal at the All England Club in 2005, but the Spaniard got one back in 2011. That was the last time Nadal got past the fourth round at Wimbledon, reaching the final but losing to Novak Djokovic.
"He's a specialist on grass," Nadal said of Muller. "Probably his best surface, without a doubt."
Murray survives
Defending champion Andy Murray held on through a tough fourth set to beat Fabio Fognini 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 and reach the fourth round at Wimbledon.
The top-ranked Murray saved five set points in the final set, winning the last five games.
Murray has won the title at the All England Club twice, but he entered this year's tournament after cancelling a pair of exhibition matches because of an ailing left hip.
Venus sets record
Venus Williams is, at 37 years old, the oldest woman to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova was the same age when she was the tournament's runner-up in 1994.
Williams beat 19-year-old Naomi Osaka of Japan 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the third round, and will face another 19-year-old on Monday with a quarterfinal berth at stake, Ana Konjuh of Croatia.
The 10th-seeded Williams is a five-time champion at the All England Club.
This is her first tournament since a two-car crash in Florida last month that police say she caused. A 78-year-old man in the other car died about two weeks later.
Tsonga-Querrey suspended in 5th set
The third-round match between 12th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and 24th-seeded Sam Querrey was suspended because of darkness.
Querrey was leading Tsonga, a two-time Wimbledon semifinalist and 2008 Australian Open runner-up, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-5 when the decision was made to suspend the match on No. 2 Court.
The match will resume not before 1 p.m. on the same court on Saturday. The winner will face Kevin Anderson, who is into the fourth round at Wimbledon for the third time in four years.
Nishikori falls to lower seed
Ninth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan lost in the third round to 18th-seeded Robert Bautista Agut of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-3.
This was their fifth match against each other on tour — and the first won by Bautista Agut.
Bautista Agut reached the fourth round at the All England Club for the second year in a row. But he has never reached the quarterfinals at any Grand Slam tournament, losing all eight previous times he got to the round of 16 at majors.
Bautista Agut's next opponent is No. 7 seed Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion. Cilic advanced by beating No. 26 seed Steve Johnson of the U.S. 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Cilic lost in the Wimbledon quarterfinals each of the past three years.
Cibulkova upset by teenager
Croatian teenager Ana Konjuh upset eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4 to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time.
The 19-year-old Konjuh is the youngest woman left in the draw.
She compiled a 54-22 edge in winners against Cibulkova, who was the runner-up at the 2014 Australian Open.
Konjuh is seeded 27th at the All England Club. Her best showing at a Grand Slam tournament was a run to the quarterfinals at last year's U.S. Open.
The victory over Cibulkova was only the second for Konjuh in eight career matches against women ranked in the top 10.
French Open champ rolling
Jelena Ostapenko has followed up her French Open championship by getting to the second week at Wimbledon for the first time.
The 13th-seeded Ostapenko reached the fourth round at the All England Club by beating Camila Giorgi of Italy 7-5, 7-5.
Ostapenko, who turned 20 last month, had never won a tour-level title until her impressive run on the red clay at Roland Garros.
The Latvian won the 2014 junior title at Wimbledon.