Three of the last 16 matches in the men's singles at Wimbledon went to five sets, but tournament favorites Andy Murray and Roger Federer were able to reach the quarterfinals with minimum fuss Monday.
Milos Raonic and Lucas Pouille each came through grueling encounters, with Raonic recovering from two sets down against David Goffin, while Tomas Berdych and Jiri Vesely face a one-set shootout on Tuesday after the latter saved five match points in fading light prior to the day's final match being suspended.
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By contrast, Murray did not face a break point in a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Nick Kyrgios, whose form dipped badly following an absorbing first set, and seven-time Wimbledon champion Federer also won comfortably against Steve Johnson.
There were even shorter workouts for Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as their respective opponents, Kei Nishikori and Richard Gasquet, retired due to injuries.
Monday's other contest saw Sam Querrey, the surprise conqueror of Novak Djokovic in Round 3, march on with a victory over Nicolas Mahut.
Vesely back from the brink
There were dramatic scenes on the No. 3 Court as the fourth set of Vesely's clash with No. 10 seed and former Wimbledon finalist Berdych drew to a conclusion.
Berdych had led 4-1 and looked set to triumph, only to be broken as he served for the match when leading 5-3. Vesely then came from 0-40 down in the 12th game to force a tie-breaker, in which he gave up a 6-1 advantage before surviving a close shave defending a fifth match point.
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A forehand from Vesely was called long, but with HawkEye unavailable due to the fading light, umpire Mohamed Lahyani overruled and ordered the point to be replayed.
After finally giving up the set, Berdych, who had seemingly been unimpressed with play continuing for so long, asked if the match could be completed under lights on Centre Court, but his request was rejected.
Kyrgios calls loss 'pathetic'
Kyrgios conceded he "lost belief" after putting in an abject performance on Wimbledon's Centre Court in his fourth-round defeat to Murray.
Kyrgios, seeded 15th, went into Monday's clash against the world No. 2 in good form, having seen off Feliciano Lopez, Dustin Brown and Radek Stepanek in the earlier rounds. He was impressive during a high-quality first set but, after narrowly losing to Murray, the Australian seemingly lost focus.
"It was a good first set. The rest of the match was pretty pathetic," Kyrgios said. "I was really comfortable out there the first set. I thought I was playing some really good tennis. I believed that I could win the match. As soon as I lost the first set, I just lost belief. Obviously felt like a mountain to climb after losing the first.
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"I think when things get tough, I'm just a little bit soft. I mean, I've got experience, but it ultimately comes down to just laying it all out there and competing for a long time. I didn't do that today at all."
Kyrgios revealed he played computer games in the lead-up to the match, while he was also seen on Court 18 watching countryman Lleyton Hewitt in the men's doubles just a few hours before his own match. Asked if he is applying all he has in his gut and heart to become the best professional he can, Kyrgios bluntly told the reporter: "No."
"I don't love the sport," he added, "but, you know, I don't really know what else to do without it. I obviously like playing the game. It's a massive part of my life. But I don't know whether ... I don't really know."
Pouille, Querrey break new ground
Pouille had not won a match on grass prior to this tournament, but both he and Querrey are now through to their first grand slam quarterfinals.
The American, fresh off his upset of Djokovic, needed less than two hours to beat Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 and set up a last-eight match with another big server in Raonic. Frenchman Pouille showed his fighting spirit to oust Bernard Tomic, the 32nd seed coming from two sets to one down before triumphing 10-8 in the fifth.
Asked what his expectations had been heading to Wimbledon, Pouille replied: "Before the tournament, (my aim) was to win one match on grass. Now, of course, I'm very happy, very emotional."