Nadal shocked by Muller

Rafeal Nadal was shockingly eliminated yesterday while defending champion Andy Murray reached a 10th successive Wimbledon quarter-final as fellow heavyweight Roger Federer joined him.

Two-time champion Nadal suffered a stunning 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13 fourth round defeat against Luxembourg's Gilles Muller.

The 31-year-old Spaniard, finally worn down by Muller after four hours and 48 minutes on Court One, hasn't won Wimbledon since 2010 and last made the quarter-finals in 2011.

Muller, seeded 16th, will make his first Wimbledon quarter-final appearance against former US Open champion Marin Cilic.

Top seed Murray eased to a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-4 win over France's Benoit Paire.

World number one Murray will face Sam Querrey, who he leads 7-1 in career meetings, for a place in the semi-finals.

Only Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors (11 each) have reached more consecutive Wimbledon quarter-finals than Murray.

The 30-year-old's progress is particularly noteworthy as he came into the tournament nursing a hip injury.

Murray's win meant that with Johanna Konta also making the last-eight in the women's tournament, it is the first time since 1973 that Britain has two players in the quarter-finals.

Querrey made the quarter-finals for a second successive year with a 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-7 (13/11), 6-3 over unseeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa.

Federer reached his 50th Grand Slam quarter-final and 15th at Wimbledon with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Grigor Dimitrov.

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Federer will face either Canada's Milos Raonic, the sixth seed, or German 10th seed Alexander Zverev for a place in the semi-finals.

Federer, 35, is also the second oldest man to make the quarter-finals at Wimbledon behind Ken Rosewall who was 39 when he reached the last-eight in 1971.

Croatian seventh seed Marin Cilic reached a fourth successive Wimbledon quarter-final with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over Roberta Bautista Agut of Spain.

Milos Raonic, the 2016 runner-up also reached the quarter-finals with a 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Alexander Zverev of Germany.

Canadian sixth seed Raonic will face seven-time champion Roger Federer in the last-eight in a rematch of last year's semi-final won by the giant Canadian.

Meanwhile on the women's side, Angelique Kerber crashed and lost her hold on the world number one ranking, while five-time champion Venus Williams became the oldest All England Club quarter-finalist in 23 years.

Amid a scheduling row that saw accusations of sexism aimed at Wimbledon chiefs after they put just two women's matches on the main show-courts, Williams wasn't the only star savouring a historic last 16 triumph.

Kerber was beaten 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Spanish 14th seed Garbine Muguruza as the German's fourth round exit extended a miserable run for last year's Wimbledon runner-up.

Muguruza goes on to play Russian seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova for a place in the semi-finals.

Halep, the Romanian world number two, defeated Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 and will be guaranteed top spot if she beats Konta in the last eight.

If Halep, a two-time French Open runner-up, loses to the Briton, then Czech world number three Pliskova will be the new number one despite losing in the second round.

Former US and French Open champion Kuznetsova, reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final in 10 years with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Polish ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska.

Williams crushed 19-year-old Croatian Ana Konjuh 6-3, 6-2 in 64 minutes on Centre Court and will now play French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko for a place in the semi-finals.

Ostapenko had advanced after finally converting her eighth match point to defeat Ukrainian world number five Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) on tiny Court 12.

World number seven Konta defeated France's Caroline Garcia 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-4 on Court One.