Andy Murray aces his way into fifth straight Wimbledon quarter-final

Andy Murray booked his place in a fifth straight Wimbledon quarter-final with victory over Marin Cilic in a match heavily disrupted by rain on Court One.

The match began at 15:45 BST on Monday but was suspended at 16:52 with Murray leading by a set and a break.

Play resumed at 12:10 on Tuesday, only to be stopped five minutes later with only two games being completed.

They re-started at 13:10 and Murray won 7-5 6-2 6-3 to set up a tie with David Ferrer,who beat Juan Martin del Potro.

“It’s quite a tough match to analyse because it was very bitty,” said Murray. “We were on and off the court.

“Last night was difficult. I was in a good position. Cilic started well today – he was hitting the ball cleaner. But I served well in the third set especially.

“It was a good experience because I haven’t had too many rain delays at Wimbledon and I haven’t always done that well when I have had them.”

The Scot must be relieved to have wrapped up proceedings so quickly – they finished at 14:10 in two hours 10 minutes of match play – given that his last-eight tie will be played on Wednesday.

With more showers expected later, there was a strong chance Murray could have been delayed further, while Ferrer and Del Potro were under the Centre Court roof and, therefore, guaranteed to finish.

The decision to schedule him on a roofless Court One – for the only time all fortnight when the weather forecast was poor – led to heavy criticism.

“I honestly don’t care which court I play on,” Murray added. “It makes no difference, but every player would rather play on Centre Court because it’s got the roof, so you know you will get your match in.

“But I don’t deserve to play every match on Centre Court. I’m more than happy to play on Court One. I just wish the weather was a bit better.

“It’s tough but a good experience. I don’t want to say for sure, but I’ll probably be on Centre from now on, so I don’t have to worry about that.”

Murray led Cilic 7-5 3-1 at 40-0 when the rain arrived on Monday, frustrating for him as Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer – the only higher-ranked players left in the draw – completed their games to go through.

But, if anything, his form was more impressive on Tuesday as he subjected Queen’s champion Cilic to a comprehensive defeat.

After moving to 5-2 in the second set, Murray wrapped it up with the help of a magnificent inside-out forehand winner.

He was moving smoothly, serving well and defending aggressively – as shown when he saved four break points early in the third set.

Cilic, seeded 16th, was cutting an increasingly forlorn figure as his groundstrokes let him down time and again.

A confident forehand pass saw Murray break for 3-1 and apply more pressure in game five, only for his opponent to hold firm.

However, Murray was in a hurry and a succession of aces took him to match point before Cilic flicked a backhand into the net.