WIMBLEDON -- Roger Federer's path to a record ninth Wimbledon title can't be described as an easy walk in the park, but the trail certainly looks less treacherous now that two major obstacles were unexpectedly cleared on Thursday.
Both No. 3 seed Marin Cilic -- Federer's opponent in two of the past four Grand Slam finals -- and unseeded, three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who had upset dangerous No. 6 seed Grigor Dimitrov, were beaten by players outside the top 80 in matches that had been suspended on Wednesday by rain.
The light but persistent drizzle that halted play at 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday might have seemed more like manna sent from heaven than precipitation for Wawrinka, who had failed to convert four consecutive set points in a first-set tiebreaker with No. 133 ranked Thomas Fabbiano.
When Fabbiano escaped and went on to take the tiebreaker on Court No. 3, he morphed into a different player. He swept through the second set and held his own through most of the third. Rain gave Wawrinka a reprieve with Fabbiano serving at 5-6 in the third set -- after Wawrinka had failed to convert two more set points.
Cilic was in entirely different shoes, ones that were slipping and sliding across Court No. 1 when the drizzle arrived. He was very much in charge of the match at that point, two sets up and on serve against No. 82 ranked Guido Pella. As play was suspended, the men went off, but remained nearby because the interruption was thought to be short-lived.
"We were waiting over there, just behind the court," Cilic said on Thursday, after he lost in five sets. "When we came back, it was not raining. We warmed up, then it started to rain again. The court was not as dry. We were talking with the referees. They said if we want to keep on, just to see how it goes, we can. We decided, both of us, to give it a try."
It turned out to be a costly decision for Cilic, who was broken for the first time in the match in the ensuing game -- one during which he slipped a few times, and fell once. The match was suspended again anyway, but Pella left the court up a break, taking with him a ray of hope and leaving Cilic with a little extra something to think about.
Matches that are concluded from the previous day are usually second on the program (as was the case for Wawrinka-Fabbiano). But Wimbledon officials put the conclusion of the Cilic-Pella match on first. Conspiracy theorists might see this as an attempt to get Cilic out of Federer's way, while less suspicious souls might just assume that since Cilic was so close to winning, club officials saw no reason to keep him hanging around the AELTC all day.
As so often happens, the players engaged in role reversal overnight. Despite his obvious superiority and terrific recent form, Cilic just couldn't find his range while Pella could do no wrong when their match continued. Pella quickly served out the third set. Then he managed to keep his level high, while Cilic continued to struggle. He denied that nerves entered into the equation.
"I was still focusing on my game," Cilic said. "It was nothing in my mind that I have to go far, or that I'm obliged to do that. I was just not feeling as comfortable as yesterday with hitting. I was not as accurate. I was just missing some balls, some easy balls, giving him a chance to come back. It was not just the pressure. It was me not executing on the court well."
Cilic's lead was so commanding that it's hard to imagine that he returned to the court nervous against an Argentinian player more noted for his clay-court game. Wawrinka, though, was in a different situation. Interruptions almost always work in favor of favorites when underdogs are taking the game to them -- especially when they are given a chance to regroup overnight while the weaker players have to try to sustain a level they rarely achieve. It makes for restive sleep.
But Wawrinka is 33, and still recovering from knee surgery last summer. Fabbiano is a 5-foot-9, 28-year-old who weighs a mere 152 pounds. He may not generate much punch but he's quick, where Wawrinka is powerful but somewhat ponderous. There was a different kind of role reversal in play in this one: would the underdog let the favorite back in the match?
Not this time. Fabbiano served at 5-6, deuce to start things off. He managed to hold. In the tiebreaker, Wawrinka wasted two more set points and lost it all when he made three consecutive backhand errors.
"Right now I'm really happy with my fitness level, my tennis game," Wawrinka said. "I've been practicing really well the last few weeks. I've been pushing myself, pushing my body. I think my level is there.
"Now it's about getting back the confidence, winning some tough matches, finding a way how to win those points like the set point yesterday. Those little things can change a tournament."
Those things also changed top-seeded Federer's tournament, but some massive boulders remain in his road. His half of the draw, while stripped of Cilic as well as Wawrinka, still features some bruising servers who are capable of taking the racket out of his hand: No. 9 John Isner, No. 11 Sam Querrey, No. 13 Milos Raonic, as well as Gael Monfils and Daniil Medvedev.
The path may be less treacherous, but it's still a winding one.