Cilic outlasts Querrey, Murray beats clock

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Marin Cilic beat Sam Querrey 17-15 in the final set of a dramatic match which broke the record for the second-longest encounter in Wimbledon history.

Croatian 16th seed Cilic beat Querrey of the United States 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 6-7 (7/2), 6-7 (7/3), 17-15 in a match that lasted five hours and 31 minutes.

The pair were duelling in the dusk on the 4 000-seater Court 2 show court when Cilic finally sealed the match at 9:02pm.

The final set lasted two hours and seven minutes.

The match surpassed the mark of five hours, 28 minutes set in 1989 when Greg Holmes beat Todd Witsken 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 14-12.

The all-time record at Wimbledon -- or anywhere else -- by a long distance remains the epic 2010 encounter at the All England Club between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut.

Isner won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (9/7), 7-6 (7/3), 70-68 in in 11 hours and five minutes in a match that took three days to complete.

Cilic got himself to match point by finishing off a 29-stroke rally and won it when Querrey fired a return of serve long. The pair hugged at the net and Cilic raised his fist in celebration.

MURRAY WINS MATCH WITH LATEST FINISH EVER

Andy Murray, meanwhile, beat Marcos Baghdatis in the latest match ever to finish at Wimbledon, wrapping up a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory at 11:02 pm (00:02 SA time) on Saturday underneath the Centre Court roof.

The deadline for stopping play under the roof is 11 pm (midnight SA time) but organisers allowed the match to continue as Murray was about to serve for the match. He served it out at love when Baghdatis sent his return long, setting off a raucous cheer from the home crowd.

The previous latest finish was 10:58 pm (11:58pm SA time)

"When I got to 4-1, I tried not to sit down, I'm glad they let us go a few more minutes," Murray said. "I don't know what the rules are. It's maybe the first time it happened here."

The roof was shut after the second set at around 9 pm as the sun was setting, and play resumed about 45 minutes later.

As Murray closed in on the victory, the normally so loud crowd started shushing between points to make sure play could continue on as quickly as possible. When the umpire allowed Murray to serve at 5-1, many stood up and cheered.

The fourth-seeded Murray is trying to become the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win Wimbledon, and his chances have been boosted by Rafael Nadal getting knocked out in the second round. Murray and Nadal were set to meet in the semifinals.

FERRER PUSHES RODDICK CLOSER TO FAREWELL

Earlier, Spanish seventh seed David Ferrer beat three-time runner-up Andy Roddick to reach the last 16, sparking fresh doubts over the American's future in tennis.

Ferrer came back from a set down to clinch a 2-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4, 6-3 triumph and goes on to face 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro for a place in the quarterfinals.

But it was Roddick's farewell gesture to Centre Court which was the talking point.

The 29-year-old, who came into the tournament on the back of a 31st career title in Eastbourne, applauded all four sides of the court, blowing a kiss to the fans, many of whom would have witnessed his three agonising final defeats to Roger Federer in 2004, 2005 and 2009.

That last loss, an epic five-setter, which ended 16-14 in the final set, was Roddick's last memorable campaign at the All England Club.

He lost in the last 16 in 2010, the third round last year and Saturday's loss, also in the third round, will only increase the speculation over the former world No 1's career.

"I don't have a definitive answer, I can't give you much else," said 2003 US Open champion Roddick, when asked if Saturday was his last farewell to Wimbledon.

At least the United States had the consolation of seeing two men into the last 16.

Tenth seed Mardy Fish, a quarterfinalist last year and playing his first tournament since undergoing a heart operation, beat Belgian wildcard David Goffin 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6).

Fish will face French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a semifinalist in 2011, who defeated Slovakia's Lukas Lacko 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

Qualifier Brian Baker's fairytale return hit a new high when he enjoyed a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over France's Benoit Paire.

Baker lost six years of his career to an assortment of injuries that left him needing five different operations on a hernia, left and right hips and his right elbow.

The 27-year-old, who started the year ranked 458, will rise to at least 78 after his performances at Wimbledon.

"It's been unreal," said Baker, who took a job as a college tennis coach to maintain his feel for the sport during his lengthy lay-off.

Czech world 100 Lukas Rosol, who had caused one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport when he beat world No 2 Rafael Nadal in five sets in the second round under the Centre Court roof on Thursday, was knocked out.

On a windswept Court 12, normal service was resumed as German 27th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat Nadal on grass at Halle two weeks ago, eased to a 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) win and a first appearance in the last 16.

Kohlschreiber will tackle Baker for a place in the quarterfinals.

"It was a little bit windy and that didn't help me a lot. He was playing pretty good, he didn't gave me a lot of chances," said Rosol, who will come back down to earth with a bump next week when he plays a second-tier Challenger event in Germany.

Del Potro defeated Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese man since 1995 to reach the third round, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 and will face Ferrer.

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