Nadal Pulls Out Another Rabbit at Wimbledon

"I was in the match right from the start but the inspiration came later," Nadal said. "When it did come in it gave me a most important victory. He is a very good player on fast surfaces, and I lost against him the last two times I met him on hardcourts, in Dubai and at the US Open. But more than the win I am happy for my game. The last three sets, I never play better."

Other winners were No. 4 Novak Djokovic topping No. 16 Lleyton Hewitt 7-6(8), 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(5); No. 10 Marcos Baghdatis straight-setting No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-3; and No. 7 Tomas Berdych baking two bagels in defeating No. 19 Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-0, 6-7(6), 6-0.

World No. 1 Roger Federer's match was suspended with the Swiss leading No. 20 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero 5-5, and Andy Roddick vs. Richard Gasquet never got underway.

Baghdatis was supported by a rowdy group of Cypriot fans.

"They motivate me and give me energy," Baghdatis said. "It was tough out there. He gets all the balls back but I just tried to put it in the court more than him, that's why I won."

Djokovic had his back treated during the match, with Hewitt accusing him of gamesmanship after the match, and going on to say the Serb will be the underdog in the next round against Baghdatis.

Scheduled for Friday are (7) Tomas Berdych vs. (2) Rafael Nadal, (1) Roger Federer vs. (20) Juan Carlos Ferrero (to finish), (10) Marcos Baghdatis vs. (4) Novak Djokovic, and (3) Andy Roddick vs. (12) Richard Gasquet.