Kei Nishikori failed to reach the second week of Wimbledon for the fourth time in six years as he suffered a 4-6 6-7 6-3 3-6 defeat to Roberto Bautista-Agut. The Japanese has been ranked inside the world’s top ten since September 2014 but has historically struggled at SW19. The low-bouncing, unpredictable grass does not suit his baseline-dominant game or his injury-prone body and he has never made it past the fourth round. And that record never looked like changing today as Bautista-Agut played exactly the kind of consistent, low-risk tennis that has enabled him to get to World No.18.

Players like the Spaniard can be a nightmare for Nishikori to face because they test the Japanese’s physicality in almost every game by dragging him to all parts of the court. And when opponents like Bautista-Agut perform well against him, the only way for the World No.8 to deal with their threat is to be aggressive and dictate the points, and Nishikori simply did not do that well enough on this occasion. Nevertheless, while it is undoubtedly a disappointing way for the ninth seed to bow out of the tournament, he will happily look ahead to the upcoming hard-court swing as it’s his favorite spell of the year.

When Nishikori was asked whether today’s loss was more a consequence of Bautista-Agut playing well or the Japanese not playing well, he said, “I think both. I couldn't maintain my level high enough to beat Bautista today. I think he served well every set, so I was having a really tough time in return games. I had many chances, but I think he played the important points well.” The win for Bautista-Agut means he has already equaled his best showing at Wimbledon, but he may have to produce something very special to keep his run going as he will face in-form Marin Cilic next.

Top seed Andy Murray was given an almighty fright on Centre Court by Fabio Fognini. The World No.1 breezed through the first set, winning it 6-2 in just 29 minutes. But the Italian hit back in the second set as he responded to going a break down by breaking Murray twice in succession to eventually take it 6-4. The Brit then re-asserted his authority on the match by storming to the third set 6-1. However, Fognini once again replied in style as he raced into a 5-2 lead in the fourth set. At that point, a fifth set looked certain, but the two-time Wimbledon champion raised his game and capitalized on the Italian’s closing-out nerves to reel off five games in a row, claim the set 7-5, and seal an extraordinary victory.

Murray said, “I’ve had three tricky opponents. I didn't think it was the best match tonight. I didn't feel like I played my best tennis. But I won and I got through it, which is a really positive thing.
Now I've got two days to work on some things, rest up a little bit, and get used to the conditions that we're playing in just now. The courts have definitely got a lot quicker than at the beginning of the event. It will be good to get a couple days' practice in those conditions before another match on Monday.”

The Brit was not particularly happy with his movement against Fognini. He said, “I didn't feel like I moved as well as I did in the first two matches. It was also a completely different match for me. (In the first two rounds) I was playing against two guys that were hitting drop shots all the time, coming forward, serve-volleying quite a lot. So I had no real rhythm after the first couple of matches. Then today from Fabio there were a lot more rallies from the back of the court and stuff. It's partly down to the way he plays as well. I felt a little bit off balance. I don't know if that was anything to do with my hip or not. That's something I, hopefully, will do a bit better the next match.” Murray will play Benoit Paire in the fourth round after the Frenchman beat Jerzy Janowicz 6-2 7-6 6-3.

Rafael Nadal had no such problems in his match against Karen Khachanov as he dispatched the Russian 6-1 6-4 7-6. However, he could face a tougher task in the last 16 against Gilles Muller, who comfortably beat Aljaz Bedene 7-5 7-6 6-4. The Spaniard said, “He's one of the toughest opponents possible on this surface. It’s his best surface without a doubt. He has a great serve, a great volley. He plays well from the baseline here. He will be difficult, but at the same time, we are in the round of 16. You cannot expect to have easy opponents. Muller is very tough because he played a lot on grass this year and won more than anybody. But that's the second week. All the matches are difficult. Let's see if I am able to keep playing well.”

One slightly surprising name in the fourth round of the draw is Kevin Anderson, who backed up an impressive first round win over Fernando Verdasco with a confident straight-sets victory over Andreas Seppi and then beat Ruben Bemelmans 7-6 6-4 7-6 today. He will have to wait until tomorrow to find out who he will be playing, however, as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Sam Querrey were at 2-6 6-3 6-7 6-1 5-6 when they were forced to stop because of bad light.