Good morning and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage as day eight of Wimbledon gets underway in South London.
The tournament's second Tuesday is to play host to Novak Djokovic's nail-bitting clash with Kevin Anderson, after their fourth-round tie was suspended yesterday with the players drawn at two sets each.
There are also four women's quarter-final contests to be decided as the likes of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska all look to book a place in the showpiece's last four.
Follow all of the day's action with our live minute-by-minute updates below.
Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us for our live coverage of day eight at Wimbledon in SW19. Tuesday will see the resumption of Novak Djokovic's intense clash with South African Kevin Anderson. Djokovic battled back brilliantly last night to claim his second set and tie the fixture, only for the progression of the game to be halted by bad light. They'll be getting things back underway at around 1pm with the players now set for a last-ditch shootout.
Across the rest of the courts, we also have an important day to cover in the women's draw as four quarter-final clashes are due to take place this afternoon. At 1pm Russian Maria Sharapova will be taking on America's Coco Vandeweghe on Centre Court, before veteran Serena Williams steps out to face up against 23rd seed Victoria Azarenka. Elsewhere, Madison Keys is taking on Agnieszka Radwanska, while Garbine Muguruza plays 26-year-old Timea Bacsinszky.
Last night saw a thrilling encounter take place between Djokovic and Anderson and the South African arguably had the Serbian champion on the ropes at a few points in the game. Much has been made of Anderson's approach play in the fixture and tennis legend John McEnroe has been quick to praise the net-play of the 29-year-old.
Andy Murray, Britain's last-remaining hopeful, had to battle hard to overcome the towering Ivo Karlovic yesterday. The Scot has since stated that the battle proved to be a mentally tiring affair.
Australian youngster Nick Kyrgios was eliminated from the showpiece yesterday and he has been generating quite the interest following a number of controversial moments in the tournament. Following his defeat to Richard Gasquet, Kyrgios has been backed by Murray to "find his way" following a testing time in South London.
Don't forget that today we will be bringing you live game-by-game commentaries of every quarter-final contest in the women's draw. The first contest to begin will see Sharapova take on Vandeweghe on Centre Court at around 1pm, which will be covered by our very own Sian Cowper. I'll also be bringing you all of the action from the clash between Djokovic and Anderson as part of this blog.
Ahead of that opening clash on Centre, Sharapova has suggested that she is happy with how her game is going at the moment. The fourth-seeded Russian defeated Zarina Diyas in the fourth-round on Monday and has since stated that she is in "good rhythm" ahead of the quarters.
Serena Williams will be doing battle on Centre Court a little later today having beaten her sister Venus Williams to earn a place in the quarters. The 20-time Grand Slam veteran cruised past her sister in the fourth round, but has revealed that she has found it difficult to feel excited about defeating her sibling.
Talk has been mounting of Roger Federer providing a stern test for anyone looking to claim victory in the men's draw. The Swiss veteran came through a comfortable straight-sets win over Roberto Bautista Agut last night, but has played down talk of his victory making a statement in the showpiece. Federer has simply stated that his opponent may not have been at his very best during the encounter.
We have been experiencing some overcast conditions in Wimbledon this afternoon and rain has been predicted to come and go throughout the day. We've just seen our first bit of the wet stuff that has brought a short delay to the mixed doubles on Court Two.
Federer's victory last night has established a quarter-final clash with Gilles Simon. The Frenchman has suggested that his Swiss opponent will provide some tough competition and that the 30-year-old will be a "difficult" opponent to face.
Fourth seed Stanislas Wawrinka has also set himself up for a quarter-final fixture after he beat Belgium's David Goffin in the fourth-round. Big Stan has revealed that the victory was an important one on a personal level as he now prepares to take on Richard Gasquet in the last-16.
More reaction is coming out from the clash between the Williams sisters. After Serena's victory, Venus has been quick to state that her sister is one of the best players to have ever played the game.
Grigor Dimitrov produced a rather indifferent showing at SW19 this year as he was eliminated by Gasquet in the third round. The Bulgarian has since announced that he has ended his relationship with coach Roger Rasheed.
As mentioned earlier, we have full game-by-game commentaries of all the women's quarter-final games today. Sian Cowper will be taking you through Sharapova's clash with Vandeweghe on Centre Court. You can follow all of the live action from that contest here.
There is some dark cloud hovering over Centre and Court One at the moment so we might have some slight delays to both the Djokovic and Sharapova games as it stands.
Should Djokovic manage to come through his game with Anderson to reach the quarters, he will then be facing Marin Cilic. The Croatian star has said that he is ready to play some "risky" tennis should he have to take on the Serbian champion in the next round.
Some slight movements are beginning to take place on Centre Court as the ground staff put up the net and wipe down a rather wet umpire's chair. If the rain holds off, we might see some play soon between Sharapova and Vandeweghe. We will bring you news on Djokovic too as soon as we get it.
And just as I say that, the two women come out onto Centre Court to be greeted with warm applause from the crowd... Play will begin soon. You can follow the whole thing right here.
We've now got life on Court One too! Djokovic and Anderson are warming up as we await the start of their fourth-round clash. The two players are tied at two sets each. I'll be bringing you full game-by-game cover as a part of this blog.
Anderson begins with a crunching ace that proves too much for Djokovic, and he then follows that up with an unstoppable second ace to make it 30-0. The South African moves ahead at 40-0 with some smart volley work on the attack. Anderson seals things with another wonderful ace.
Now it's Novak's turn to serve well and he produces with an opening ace. The Serbian then forces his opponent into a forehand error, before moving the scores to 40-0 as Anderson produces another mistake this time on the backhand. Anderson wins one point back with a crunching forehand down the line, but Djokovic seals the game as his opponent fails to return with his forehand.
Anderson opens up by losing a point on the serve as his return flies wide on Novak's side, but he's soon level when he drops a long shot that just about creeps in on the back line. The South African seems in punishing form when he opens up with the contest's fourth ace, and Djokovic soon looks perplexed when he's unable to return at 40-15. Novak hits back with a devastating forehand swipe on the return to make it 40-30 and Anderson then comes up short by hitting into the net to concede deuce. Anderson moves in front as he wins a challenge for his serve and the game is soon over when Djokovic's next return flies out of the side.
Novak finds himself 30-0 behind on his own serve early on after a poor double fault and a forehand error, before Anderson makes a mistake of his own to put the scores at 30-15. After a lengthy rally Djokovic spoons a terrible effort out the back of the court to put Anderson on break point, but Novak battles back to deuce by forcing his opponent into a two hopeful long shots that are both given out. The Serbian produces a standout ace to force an advantage and then kills the game off with a crunching forehand that Anderson responds to with a return that flies out.
Anderson starts well with an ace that does for Novak, before scoring off a forehand winner. The South African makes it 40-0 with a telling volley, before finishing things off with another ace. This set is full of them, six in total!
Back on his own serve, Djokovic moves to 30-0 with an impressive forehand winner followed by an error from Anderson. The South African hits back, though, as Novak makes two unforced errors on his forehand to leave the game level after the two players produce one of the rallies of the tournament. It starts to rain, which can't be good for the current champion, but he moves ahead when Anderson fires wide. Djokovic seems perturbed with conditions and shoots a long one to bring deuce. His next serve cannot be met by Anderson and he finally wins the game when his opponent cuts horribly wide of the court as he tries to send one back.
Lovely attacking play sees Djokovic complaining as he finds himself sliding all over the shop when Anderson captures the first point. The 29-year-old then produces an ace to irritate Novak even further. It's soon 40-0 as the Serbian is unable to return another serve. The next serve really climbs on Djokovic and Anderson takes the game without Novak being able to register.
Djokovic opens up on the forehand to power a great return down into the corner to take the first point, and he is soon 30-0 ahead when Anderson cuts loosely into the net on the return. Anderson then makes two unforced errors of his own both on the back and forehand and Novak takes the game. We're tied at 4-4 in the final set...
Anderson opens up the ninth game with a powerful serve that sees Novak scoop a return high and out. The Serbian is further behind when Anderson wallops a backhand down into the corner beyond his opponent. Djokovic is given a route back into things when Anderson chops wide on the attack, but Djokovic goes further behind when his opponent produces another ace. Anderson's next serve is too good and Novak's return goes wide. Djokovic is now serving to stay in the game!
The Serbian remains cool to take the lead with a strong serve that cannot be challenged by Anderson. Two strong backhands then see Djokovic take a 40-0 lead. The reigning champ seals a vital game with fantastic ace that flies beyond Anderson at 118mph.
BREAK! The South African really does know how to serve and he comes up strong with an opening ace, but then loses out when he crunches a backhand into the net on the return. Rallies certainly favour Djokovic. The Serbian moves ahead when Anderson double faults on his service and Novak takes the initiative when Anderson double faults twice in a row despite a desperate challenge from the 29-year-old to give Novak a break point. Djokovic takes the break when the South African muffles a return into the grass. Wow... Djokovic serving for a place in the quarter-finals.
GAME, SET & MATCH! Not really the start Novak was hoping for when he comes up with two forehand errors on the attack to give Anderson a 30-0 lead, but he soon comes back by forcing his challenger into a backhand error that flies harmlessly wide. More strong work on the attack from Novak sees Anderson chuck another loose shot beyond the white markings to bring the players level. Djokovic is given a match point as a stunning piece of service ensures that Anderson loops another one out. The current champion takes the game as his attacking shot sees his opponent unable to return with a shot that again flies high and wide.
So Novak Djokovic earns a place in the quarter-finals with a 6-7 6-7 6-1 6-4 7-5 victory over Kevin Anderson across five sets. The Serbian had to hang in there for a good while and he eventually won out over the South African. That break in the 11th game proved vital and Novak will now face Marin Cilic in the next round.
Right, now that Novak has done what he needed to do it's time for us to close this live blog for the day and point you in the direction of our dedicated live commentaries for the ladies' quarter-finals. Click here for Maria Sharapova vs. Coco Vandeweghe, which is already in the second set, and click here for the first quarter-final on No.1 Court between Garbine Muguruza and Timea Bacsinszky. See you there!
