Defending champion Taylor Fritz won two matches in one day by battling through “crazy” windy conditions at Eastbourne.
After Fritz’s second-round tie with 18-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca was suspended at 6-3 6-7 (5-7) for bad light on Wednesday, the pair resumed on Thursday afternoon, with Fritz edging the deciding set 7-5.
That match finished at 12:47 BST – and four hours and 23 minutes later Fritz returned to centre court to face Marcos Giron in the quarter-finals.
Fritz came through 7-5 4-6 7-5 against his American compatriot to reach the last four.
“I love this tournament. I’ve been very lucky to not play in very windy conditions,” Fritz, a three-time champion in Eastbourne, said.
“It’s tough for me when I don’t get to play the tennis that I love to play here. I have to scrap and play crazy tennis when it’s windy.
“I’m obviously really glad to get through it.”
Fritz, who beat world number three Alexander Zverev in the Stuttgart Open final 11 days ago, is among the favourites for the Wimbledon title.
He faces world number 28 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Friday’s semi-final after the Spaniard beat Czech Jakub Mensik 6-4 7-5.
