Nadal progress hampered by rain

Rafael Nadal must return on Saturday to continue his bid to reach the fourth round after his clash with Gilles Muller was affected by the weather.

The world number one had just taken a nervy first set on a tie-break on Court One when the heavens opened at 5.40pm, with play officially called off for the day at 7pm.
The pair will open play on the same court and the delay could prove to be a blessing in disguise for Nadal, whose last act before the rain was to leave the arena for a medical timeout.
He stumbled to the floor on the ninth point of the tie-break and took longer than usual to get up, although he sprinted off the court to suggest the problem may not be serious and was later seen walking out of the grounds showing no signs of discomfort.
He was able to sleep knowing he was fortunate to be in front, after Muller, the man who beat him at Wimbledon in 2005, squandered two set points.
Muller, keen to prove he was not on the other side of the court to make up the numbers, signalled his intentions with a first-game ace and went on to win 93 per cent of the points on his first serve.
Nadal cut a frustrated figure as time after time Muller's serve either missed his racquet or skimmed the rim of it, although by the sixth game, when he punched home a close-range forehand, the Spaniard looked to have settled.
Muller was clinical on serve, though, and a number of impressive holds took him to 6-5, putting all the pressure on the Mallorcan.
For once he cracked, and his two shots into the net meant that when Muller creamed a winner, he had two set points.
Nadal saved them, but still had work to do. Muller gained the first mini-break in the tie-break, only to lose it when he smashed wide of an open court.
Another fizzing serve caused Nadal to move sharply and fall midway through, but the top seed picked himself up and found two mini-breaks to take the tie-break 8/6 and edge ahead overnight.