Wimbledon notes: No. 1 Novak Djokovic leads top 4 into quarters

LONDON – Novak Djokovic is developing a nasty habit of playing Grand Slam matches over two days.

Wimbledon’s defending champion and No. 1 seed at the All England Club will be competing for a third day in a row when he faces No. 9 Marin Cilic for a berth in the semifinals.

That’s because Djokovic’s 6-7 (6), 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 victory in the quarterfinals over No. 14 Kevin Anderson began on Monday, was suspended because of darkness after four sets, and then resumed Tuesday. The good news for Djokovic is he only needed about 45 minutes to wrap things up, and his match against Cilic is scheduled for second on Centre Court, leaving extra time to rest.

At the French Open last month, Djokovic’s semifinal against Andy Murray also stretched over two days, and the Serb then lost in the final to Stan Wawrinka.

The other men’s quarterfinals are No. 2 Roger Federer against No. 12 Gilles Simon of France, No. 3 Murray against unseeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada, and No. 4 Wawrinka against No. 21 Richard Gasquet of France.