An inspired Andy Murray gleaned a 2-1 lead over Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas during their Wimbledon second-round encounter on Centre Court on Thursday.
The three-time major winner engaged in an exhilarating battle with Tsitsipas, finding his first serves and returning with panache to establish a 6-7[3] 7-6[2] 6-4 advantage before the match was suspended due to the 11pm curfew, much to the chagrin of the fired-up crowd.
The enforced delay arguably came at the best time for Murray, who slipped and fell on the court while serving for the third set - letting out a horrifying cry of agony - but he was able to carry on and will return on Friday with the aim of finishing what he started.
Earlier in the day, Murray's compatriot Liam Broady pulled off what was undoubtedly the biggest result of his career so far, upsetting Norwegian fourth seed Casper Ruud in five sets.
The 29-year-old inflicted the unlikeliest of bagels on the three-set Grand Slam finalist to triumph 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0, thereby reaching the third round for just the second time in his career, while Ruud is yet to advance beyond round two at SW19.
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Broady's reward for his magnificent success is a showdown with Canadian 26th seed Denis Shapovalov, who bested Frenchman Gregoire Barrere 6-3 6-4 7-6[7], while fellow Briton Katie Boulter also advanced to round three for the second year running.
The Nottingham Open champion produced a bagel of her own against Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova, who subsequently fought back to take the contest to the distance but lost out 0-6 6-3 3-6.
Racking up 37 winners and clinching 75% of points at the net, Boulter also faces a true test of her mettle in the third round against reigning women's singles champion Elena Rybakina.
The Kazakhstani's contest with French veteran Alize Cornet was marred by a serious-looking injury to the latter, who jarred her hip after an awkward fall on the Centre Court turf during the second set.
Cornet - who had missed five break points in the same game - was down for several minutes before receiving treatment, and she played through the pain with her right leg heavily strapped, but Rybakina still powered her way to a 6-2 7-6[2] triumph.
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However, Jan Choinski could not join his fellow home favourites in the last 32, as he battled hard against Polish 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz but was outfought 4-6 4-6 6-7[3].
Hurkacz could soon set up a fourth-round affair with Novak Djokovic, who will play three-time Grand Slam winner Stanislas Wawrinka after the Swiss defeated Tomas Etcheverry 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2.
Elsewhere on day four, 16-year-old Russian protege Mirra Andreeva claimed a 6-3 4-0 walkover win over Czech 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova, who was forced to retire with an ankle injury.
Alexander Zverev, Jessica Pegula, Andrey Rublev and Caroline Garcia also booked their spots in round three, but Jelena Ostapenko and Taylor Fritz were among the notable losers.
Former French Open winner Ostapenko lost 6-4 6-7[6] 4-6 to Romania's Sorana Cirstea, while Fritz suffered a catastrophic collapse in a 6-3 6-2 3-6 4-6 2-6 defeat to Sweden's Mikael Ymer.
Ben Knapton
