Defending champion Novak Djokovic was temporarily knocked off course by big-serving Pole Hubert Hurkacz but quickly got back in the groove on Monday to reach the Wimbledon quarter finals.

Having edged two tie-breaks late on Sunday before being beaten by the tournament’s strict 11pm curfew, the 36-year-old returned to lose his first set of the tournament before sealing a 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 victory.

World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz recovered from a loss in the first set to defeat Matteo Berrettini 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 and enter the quarters.

Holgar Rune, seeded sixth, defeated 21st-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in the fourth round.

Djokovic was not at his best as Hurkacz briefly threatened a comeback but, as he so often does, the record 23-time grand slam men’s champion found a solution.

He now equals Jimmy Connors in second place with for Wimbledon quarter finals reached and will face Russia’s seventh seed Andrey Rublev on Wednesday.

Remarkably the Serbian has now reached 56 Grand Slam quarter finals, second behind only Roger Federer.

Eubanks feat

Christopher Eubanks of the US was roared on to a 3-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round.

Aged 27, Eubanks is no spring chicken but after making it into the Wimbledon main draw for the first time this year, he ensured he enjoyed a run to remember as he made it into the quarter finals of a grand slam for the first time.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev reached the Wimbledon quarter finals for the first time when his fourth-round opponent Jiri Lehecka retired injured after losing the first two sets 4-6, 2-6.

Andreeva run ends

American Madison Keys ended Mirra Andreeva’s fairytale Wimbledon debut as the 16-year-old Russian wasbeaten 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 in the fourth round.

World No. 102 Andreeva, who was looking to become the youngest to reach the last eight of the grasscourt grand slam since Anna Kournikova in 1997, fought valiantly against Keys but was ultimately overwhelmed.

The teenager’s lack of experience showed towards the end of the match, as she was handed a point penalty for throwing her racquet at 5-2 in the decider, which handed match point to Keys.

Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka continued her march towards a second grand slam title this year with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova to power into the quarter finals.

Jabeur vs Rybakina

Ons Jabeur set up a quarter-final repeat of last year’s Wimbledon against Elena Rybakina after crushing out-of-sorts former champion Petra Kvitova 6-0, 6-3.

Third-seeded Kazakh Rybakina went through after Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia retired at 4-1 down in the first set with a back injury.

Bopanna advances

The sixth-seeded duo of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden beat the British pair of Johannus Monday and Jacob Fearnley to enter the men’s doubles pre-quarter finals.

The Indo-Australian combine defeated Monday and Fearnley 7-5, 6-3 in a second-round match.