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"I was a little bit surprised, when I saw sunshine, that the roof is closed," Djokovic said. "Obviously, they’re relying on a forecast that I don’t think is very reliable here."
Among those moving into the fourth round on outdoor courts: Denis Istomin, the first player from Uzbekistan to make it that far at any Grand Slam tournament, No. 18 Richard Gasquet, No. 26 Mikhail Youzhny and No. 31 Florian Mayer. Unseeded American Sam Querrey, still working his way back up the rankings after right elbow surgery a year ago, finished off a suspended second-round match, eliminating No. 21 Milos Raonic of Canada 6-7 (3), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (8), 6-4.
Seeded women who won included No. 1 Maria Sharapova, No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 8 Angelique Kerber and No. 15 Sabine Lisicki. Four-time major champion Kim Clijsters got through when No. 12 Vera Zvonareva, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up, quit in the second set because of what she said was a respiratory infection, while 145th-ranked qualifier Camila Giorgi of Italy defeated No. 20 Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-3, 7-6 (6).
All rather ho-hum, really, when compared to Nadal’s loss and Federer’s near-loss.
Benneteau has zero tournament titles to Federer’s 74, and only once has made it to a Grand Slam quarterfinal (which he lost, by the way, at the 2006 French Open). Ranked 32nd, Benneteau was attempting to become the first man outside No. 30 to beat Federer at a major tournament in more than nine years.
"He proved he is great. The greatest," Benneteau said. "Technically, physically, mentally, he was exceptional."
They’ve known each other since they were kids on the junior circuit, and Federer credited Benneteau with having played "a wonderful match, from start to finish. ... Could have — or should have — gotten me."
Rosol did get Nadal and instantly became something of a curiosity: A player no one had ever heard of before Thursday was a big deal on Friday.
His buddy Stepanek likened the brash Rosol’s performance against Nadal to a gambler getting paid time after time at the roulette table.
"If you put a million on red yesterday, it was there every single time," Stepanek said. "He was just swinging, swinging, and, you know, it was very impressive."
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A little more than 12 hours after pulling off as shocking a result as tennis has seen in years, Rosol was back in action, albeit under far different circumstances.
Instead of the tournament’s 14,979-capacity main arena, Rosol was a short walk away at 318-seat Court 15. Instead of facing 11-time Grand Slam champion Nadal in singles, Rosol teamed with Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan against James Cerretani of the United States and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France in a second-round doubles match between unseeded pairs.
Normally, a matchup like theirs might be watched by friends, family and some fans mainly interested in a place to sit. Given Rosol’s newfound notoriety, though, the place was standing-room only; some spectators sought out spots at adjacent Court 14 and watched from there as Rosol and Kukushkin lost in five sets.
Now everyone will be eager to find out how Rosol fares Saturday in singles on Court 12 against No. 27 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.
"I’m curious to see how he’s going to play tomorrow. ... To me, he looked a little bit arrogant out there, so I wonder how he’ll react in his next match, if he can stay grounded," Clijsters said. "You can beat Nadal, but if you lose the next round. ..."
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