Wimbledon 2008: Rain Delays Men's Quarter-finals

The men's quarter-finals have been put on hold at Wimbledon after rain began to fall shortly after 12.30pm BST this afternoon, half an hour before play was due to start on the show courts. Wimbledon officials have now announced that play will resume on the show courts - though not the outside courts - at 1.45pm, but with further downpours still a possibility, Andy Murray's eagerly awaited match against the world No2 Rafael Nadal may yet be forced into tomorrow.

Murray and Nadal are scheduled to play second on Center Court, after defending champion Roger Federer's match with Mario Ancic. Nevertheless, they will be hopeful of getting started before too late if the weather holds - Federer's matches so far at this year's Championships have lasted an average of 97 minutes. Though Ancic is the last man to beat Federer at Wimbledon, that was some five years ago, before the Swiss had won his first grand slam.

"I think you have to stay patient, it looks like there could be some breaks and you have to try and stay relaxed and not think too much about it," said Murray. "I know he [Nadal] had experience of it last year, you have to just stay relaxed and if you're in the middle of a match not rush things. I practiced yesterday for about an hour and didn't do too much, stayed off my feet and I feel OK today."