Anxious wait for Nadal

Defending champion Rafael Nadal was set to discover today whether his Wimbledon campaign would be ended by the foot injury he suffered in yesterday’s hard-fought victory over Juan Martin Del Potro.

Nadal cut a sullen figure in his post-match press conference last night, admitting that he feared the worst after picking up the injury before a first-set tie break.

The Spaniard had close to 10 minutes’ worth of treatment from his physio on the problem, but he still ran out a 7-6 (8/6) 3-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-4 winner.

The fact that he battled on for three sets after picking up the injury suggested it was not too bad, but the two-time champion sounded pessimistic about his chances last night, saying: “I have to go for an MRI (scan). I don’t know right now (whether I can play on). I felt really bad during the first set.

“I am worried for sure. I will have the scan and then let’s see if I can recover for Wednesday.

“At 6-5 I felt terrible. I felt that I had broken my foot. The point at deuce and the point that gave me set point, I felt terrible.

“I asked for the trainer at that moment when the game was done. I seriously didn’t know at that moment if I had a chance to continue playing.

“At 6-5, I pushed hard with the forehand and I felt like something crushed, there in the back of the outside of the foot.”

Should the problem rule him out of Wednesday’s clash with Mardy Fish, it will be a cruel blow for the 25-year-old, who missed the defence of his 2008 title with a knee injury.

The two-time champion is favourite to win here at SW19 after dropping just one set on his way to the last eight and looked in good form yesterday despite his injury.

The number one seed was joined in the last eight by Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer, who all won yesterday.

Like Nadal, Federer had to work hard to clinch victory, dropping his first set of the tournament before running out an eventual 6-7 (5/7) 6-3 6-3 6-3 against Mikhail Youzhny.

A mouthwatering clash with big-hitter Jo Wilfried-Tsonga now awaits the Swiss.

“I think he’s got the weapons to be a huge threat on grass, make a run here. It’s a tough draw, but I’m ready for it,” Federer said of the Frenchman.

“I think he’s a great player. He’s proven it on numerous occasions. It’s going to be good tennis.”

Murray breezed past Richard Gasquet in straight sets while Djokovic wasted little time in hammering Michael Llodra 6-3 6-3 6-3.

Djokovic will play teenage practice partner Bernard Tomic, 18, after he beat Xavier Malisse today.

Tsonga beat David Ferrer in straight sets but Feliciano Lopez found his fourth-round clash with Lukasz Kubot much tougher.

Lopez saved two match points before going on to beat the Polish qualifier 3-6 6-7 (5/7) 7-6 (9/7) 7-5 7-5. He will now face Murray in the last eight.

Fish completes the quarter-final line-up having eliminated last year’s finalist Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 6-4 yesterday.