By DPA
London : Five days after first taking to the court, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic came through marathon victories into the fourth round as rain-plagued Wimbledon slowly started getting back on schedule.
Second seed Nadal, losing finalist last year to Roger Federer, advanced over Swede Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 4-6, 7-5.
Fourth-seeded Djokovic got out of danger against German Nicolas Kiefer to secure a hard-fought 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) third-round victory.
Both contests first took to the court on Saturday.
With no Sunday play and bad conditions on Monday and Tuesday, it took iron will from both winners to eventually go through.
Nadal was pleased to end his waiting-game nightmare.
"I'm very happy with the victory, the most important thing was to finish the match. It's never been like this, I've been here five years and never remember anything like this.
"Today when I went to the court (at 4-4 in the fifth set), I knew I could lose or win. I had to be there with my best attitude and try my best."
With the event backed up, winners will have to keep playing every day without pause if the men's final is to conclude Sunday as scheduled – weather permitting.
Four-time champion Federer benefited from a fourth-round walkover as opponent Tommy Haas retired before their match with an abdominal muscle tear.
But the Swiss will have had nearly a week idle by the time he takes to the court Thursday against Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Nadal and Soderling played a pair of frustratingly abbreviated sessions on a rainy Tuesday lasting nine and 12 minutes. They finished Wednesday on Nadal's sixth match point.
The Spanish world number two had a chance to wrap up the win at the weekend, but missed a match point in the third-set tiebreaker.
Djokovic saved four break points from to take a 6-5 lead in the fourth set over Kiefer, back on court after a year away due to a wrist injury.
The Serb fourth seed then claimed the delayed victory on a second match point when Kiefer mis-hit a forehand after nearly three and a half hours on court since the weekend.
Third seed Andy Roddick reached the quarterfinals as he finished off over France's Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), a match, which only started on Tuesday.