KEY POINTS:
LONDON - Rafael Nadal needed 20 minutes and five match points on Thursday (NZ time) finally to dispose of Robin Soderling 6-4 6-4 6-7 4-6 7-5 in a rain-hit third round match that spanned three days.
The players resumed at 4-4 in the final set in a match that started on Tuesday (NZ time) and was hit by five rain breaks, with only 20 minutes of play possible on Wednesday.
Nadal saved a break point at 5-5 and then held on to his serve. The players looked up in disbelief during the changeover when the familiar drizzle started falling but the umpire told them: "Let's play, it's stopping".
The world number two seemed to want to prolong the agony for himself, squandering four match points before forcing Soderling to hit a shot long to claim the match.
French Open champion Nadal had already had match point on Tuesday in the third set tiebreak, having smoothly taken the first two sets. But the miss allowed Soderling to get back into the match.
The Spaniard will face Russian 14th seed Mikhail Youzhny in the fourth round.
- REUTERS
