Images from Day 7 of Wimbledon 2024 at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Sunday.
Wimbledon's reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz was pushed to the limit for the second match in succession but once again stood firm to beat Ugo Humbert and reach the quarter-finals on Sunday.
Outplayed at times by his French opponent, third seed Alcaraz dug deep to triumph 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to move through to the last eight at a Grand Slam for the ninth time.
Just as against American Frances Tiafoe in the previous round, Alcaraz struggled to contain an inspired opponent throwing the kitchen sink at him but this time narrowly avoided being dragged into another five-setter.
The players were protected from the torrential rain that drummed on the closed Centre Court roof early on but there was no hiding place for Humbert as Alcaraz stormed through the opening set after grabbing an early service break.
Stylish left-hander Humbert began to make inroads with his early-struck returns in the second set but he went unrewarded as Alcaraz pounced to win a remarkable rally on set point in which he was grounded after doing the splits.
The warning signs had been there for Alcaraz though and he was stunned in the third set as an increasingly confident Humbert broke his serve three times in succession.
After a flurry of service breaks at the start of the fourth set, Humbert continued to look the more dangerous and had three successive break points when Alcaraz served at 3-4 but the three-time Grand Slam champion wriggled out of danger.
Alcaraz then found some magic just when he needed it most, curling a staggering forehand winner down the line when under the hammer in his next service game and then breaking serve in the following game with another forehand dipper.
Alcaraz brought up match point with a disguised forehand drop shot, one of his favourite tricks, and sealed victory with a wide swinging serve that Humbert could not handle.
Once again though he knew he had been in a real battle and he will hope to have things a little more under control against either compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut or American Tommy Paul.
Defending a Wimbledon title is not supposed to be a breeze and Alcaraz has looked vulnerable at times in the first week.
At one stage deep in the match on Sunday he had lost five out of six service games as Humbert began to read the delivery like a book and send the ball back to within millimetres of the lines loaded with hefty interest.
When Humbert got to 0-40 in the eighth game of the fourth set the alarm bells were really starting to ring for Alcaraz who lost his cool and began to rant towards coach Juan Carlos Ferrero in his players' box.
The mark of a champion though is being able to stay cool and some heavy serving got him out of trouble.
Humbert, bidding for his first Grand Slam quarter-final appearance, barely put a foot wrong but a costly smash error at 5-5 proved his undoing and Alcaraz needed no second invitation to finish the job.
Paul sets up Alcaraz showdown with win over Agut
The United States' 12th seed Tommy Paul raced against the fading light on Court Two to dispatch Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-2 and set up a quarter-final clash with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
The 27-year-old took just over two hours to beat Bautista Agut, who was bidding to reach his second Wimbledon quarter-final in his 10th appearance at the Championships.
Paul, whose grass game is finely tuned after he won the Queen's Club warm-up event last month, had just too much power and variety for the 36-year-old, now ranked 112.
Bautista Agut made the American work in the second set but a couple of unforced errors lost him the chance to draw level and Paul raced through the final set, clinching the match with an ace.
The players had arrived on court late because of rain showers and the shadows were long across the court when they finished.
"It worked out great," Paul said. "I always play good tennis on this court.
"I know the weather hasn't been cooperating but maybe my next match will be inside," he joked.
A match-up with Alcaraz is likely to be scheduled on Centre Court which has a roof.
"He (Alcaraz) plays amazing tennis on grass but I'm playing pretty good too," Paul, who is on a nine-match winning streak, added.
Sinner overpowers big-serving Shelton
World number one Jannik Sinner quelled the challenge of big-serving 14th seed Ben Shelton with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(9) victory on Sunday to reach the for the third successive year.
Victory also meant Sinner has made at least the last eight in every tournament he has played in this year, improving his impressive win-loss record to 42-3.
He came under early pressure as Shelton, who has sent down rockets on the slick turf at the Grand Slam this year, started aggressively under the Court One roof by serving and volleying in a bid to unsettle the Australian Open champion.
Sinner was equal to the task, however, and broke the feisty American twice to comfortably pocket the opening set.
The Italian consolidated an early break in the second set with a booming ace and pulled away for a two-set advantage, as Shelton was left with another battle on his hands having been dragged the distance in each of his last three rounds.
The 21-year-old raised the hopes of fans by breezing ahead 4-1 in the third set but Sinner ran his opponent ragged with his power and precision to draw level after eight games.
Sinner then delighted the crowd that included his "Carota Boys" travelling fan group with a superb forward-facing 'tweener half-volley before making it 5-5.
"I'm not the kind of player to have a lot of trick shots," Sinner said. "But in this case it was still the easiest shot. I didn't have space to go right and left. It was a lucky shot."
He then saved a break-point to force a tie-break where Shelton came from behind but squandered four set points, allowing Sinner to secure the victory.
Up next for Sinner is a meeting with fifth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev, in what will be a rematch of their Melbourne Park title clash which went to five sets.
Medvedev won the first six of their 11 meetings before Sinner completely turned the tide but the 22-year-old said he expected a tough test.
Dimitrov injury sends Medvedev through to quarter-finals
Tenth-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov pulled out injured in the first set of his fourth round tie against Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon on Sunday after a lengthy treatment break.
Medvedev, seeded fifth, will now meet top seed Jannick Sinner in the quarter-finals.
The Russian has a 6-5 head-to-head lead over the Italian world No.1 but has lost their last five matches.
Dimitrov looked in good form, racing to a 3-0 lead in the match, before Medvedev broke back. The Bulgarian then slipped on Court One, carrying on for a couple of games that Medvedev won before taking a medical time out after the seventh.
He returned briefly but could not move well and called it a day after the eighth game during which Medvedev served three aces.
