Rain and a look ahead

• And I thought Wimbledon constructed a retractable roof over Centre Court to avoid problems like today. Victoria Azarenka and Tamira Paszek will finish their quarterfinal match on Centre Court, resuming at 8 p.m. London time. Only one game had been played before play was suspended this evening, and fortunately the decision was made to finish the match under the roof tonight.

Knowing that rain is so likely in London, I’m not sure why they didn’t simply schedule four women’s quarterfinals on Centre Court to ensure that no disruptions occurred. The Azarenka-Paszek match will conclude many hours after it was expected to end.

• The men’s quarterfinal matches tomorrow figure to be outstanding. The top four seeds all meet lower-ranked opponents, each of whom is dangerous to some degree. Roger Federer faces the toughest task against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; Tsonga is a big hitter and an excellent athlete, and he could make things difficult for Federer if he’s on his game. Mardy Fish has the firepower to challenge Nadal on grass, especially if Nadal’s injured foot is an issue, but this is new territory for Fish and I don’t expect him to upset the defending champion.

Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez will square off in the second match on Centre Court, and while the atmosphere figures to be electric, Lopez doesn’t have this in him. He’s got the big lefty serve and his last two matches have been especially impressive in different ways (routing Andy Roddick and then winning a tough five-setter), but Murray will get through to the semis. I also don’t expect 18-year-old Aussie Bernard Tomic to defeat 2011’s best player, Novak Djokovic.

But these matches all have the potential to be close, exciting matches. The last three rounds of the men’s draw promises plenty of drama and great tennis.