Wimbledon 2018 – The side of Roger Federer's painting opens in Cilic, Wawrinka

WIMBLEDON – Roger Federer's path to a record of the ninth Wimbledon title can not be described as an easy walk in the park, but the trail certainly seems less dangerous now that two major obstacles were unexpectedly cleared Thursday.

Marin Cilic – Federer's No. 3 opponent in two of the last four Grand Slam finals – and three-time Grand Slam unlisted champion Stan Wawrinka, who had defeated Grigor Dimitrov, seeded No. 6 , was beaten by players out of the top 80 in games suspended Wednesday by the rain.

The light but persistent drizzle that stopped at 18:50 Wednesday could have looked more like a manna sent from the sky than a rush for Wawrinka, who had failed to convert four points consecutive in a tiebreaker in the first inning with Thomas Fabbiano, ranked No. 133

when Fabbiano escaped the tie break on Court # 3, he s. is transformed into a different player. He swept the second set and held his through most of the third. Rain granted Wawrinka a reprieve while Fabbiano was serving 5-6 in the third set – after Wawrinka failed to convert two more points of play.

Cilic wore completely different shoes, which slipped and slipped on the Court n ° 1 when the drizzle arrived. At that time, he was very in charge of the match, two sets and was serving against Guido Pella, number 82. As the game was suspended, the men went out, but stayed close because the l '. interruption was meant to be short-lived.

"We were waiting there, just behind the court," Cilic said Thursday after losing five times. sets. "When we came back, it was not raining, we warmed up, then it started raining again, the yard was not so dry, we talked with the referees, they told us that if we wanted to continue We decided, both of us, to give it a try. "

Cilic made an expensive decision, which was broken for the first time in the ensuing game, during which he slipped a few times, and fell once." The match was again suspended, but Pella left a break at the court, taking a glimmer of hope and leaving Cilic with a little something to add

Matches concluded the day before are usually in second place. case for Wawrinka-Fabbiano.) But Wimbledon officials put the conclusion of the Cilic-Pella match first.The conspiracy theorists might see this as an attempt to move Cilic away from Federer's path, while the lesser souls suspects might badume that Cilic was so close to winning that club officials saw no reason to let him hang around AELTC all day.

As often happens, players engaged in a turnaround t role overnight. Despite his obvious superiority and recent form, Cilic just could not find his place while Pella could not go wrong when their match went on. Pella quickly served the third set. Then he managed to keep his level high, while Cilic continued to fight. He denied that the nerves entered the equation.

"I always focused on my game," Cilic said. "I had nothing else to do than go far, or that I had to do that, I did not feel as comfortable as yesterday in doing it. striking, I was not so precise, I was missing bullets, It was not only the pressure, but also the ease of play. "

his play of clay-clay.Wawrinka, however, was in a different situation. always in favor of the favorites when the outsiders bring them the game – especially when they have a chance to regroup during the night while the weaker players must try to maintain a level that they rarely reach.

But Wawrinka is 33 years old and is still recovering from a knee surgery. Last summer, Fabbiano is a 5-foot-9, 28-year-old who weighs only 152 pounds. It can not generate a lot of punch but it is fast, where Wawrinka is powerful but somewhat heavy. There was a different kind of role reversal in this one: would the outsider leave the favorite in the match?

Not this time. Fabbiano served at 5-6, Deuce to start things. He managed to hold on. In the tiebreaker, Wawrinka lost two set points and lost everything by making three consecutive setbacks.

"Right now, I'm really happy with my fitness level, my tennis game," said Wawrinka. "I have trained very well in recent weeks, I push myself, I push my body, I think my level is there."

"Now, it's about regaining confidence, winning matches difficult, to find a way to earn these points as the set point yesterday. These little things can change a tournament. "

These things have also changed Federer's top tournament, but there are still big blocks in his way, his half of the draw, while being stripped of Cilic and Wawrinka, servants able to take off his racket: No. 9 John Isner, No. 11 Sam Querrey, No. 13 Milos Raonic, and Gael Monfils and Daniil Medvedev

The path may be less dangerous, but it is still sinuous.