British third seed Andy Murray cut Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic down to size on Monday with a 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win to make the quarter-finals for the eighth successive year.
Murray, the 2013 champion, will face unseeded Canadian Vasek Pospisil for a place in the semi-finals.
– SW19 review: A look back at week one of Wimbledon 2015
– Gallery: The top-ten greatest Wimbledon upsets in history
– Wimbledon: Serena beats Venus to reach quarter-finals
Karlovic, at 36 the oldest man to reach the last 16 in 39 years, fired 29 aces in the three-hour encounter, but that was well below par for a man who had blasted 136 in his first three rounds.
Murray hit 62 winners to the Croatian’s 75 but crucially only nine unforced errors to his rival’s 32.
It’s becoming a habit… #Wimbledon #ManicMonday pic.twitter.com/WBGQ7sph2e
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2015
“I came up with some good lobs and passing shots. I just needed to keep him low,” said Murray on his tactics of tackling the 2.11-metres (six feet, 11 inches) tall Karlovic.
“It was an incredibly difficult match, it was mentally tiring because you just have to be ready when the chances come.”
Murray required seven set points to take the opener and just a single break for the second set.
Karlovic saved one match point but was powerless on the second as Murray stretched his career record over the veteran to 6-0.
French Open champion Wawrinka defeated Belgian 16th seed David Goffin 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.
Wawrinka also made the last eight in 2014 and is bidding to become just the fifth man to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year.
WATCH A pumped up @stanwawrinka continues his march into the quarter-finals #ManicMonday #Wimbledon http://t.co/ef89fB2Rpx
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2015
Pospisil became only the third Canadian man to reach the quarter-finals with a 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over Serbian 22nd seed Viktor Troicki.
It was the world number 56’s third five-set match in four rounds.
Pospisil follows Robert Powell (1908, 1910 and 1912) and Milos Raonic (2014) as the only Canadian men to have reached the last-eight at the All England Club.
