<p>London cabbie's son Ward, ranked 216 in the world and trained by an Argentine cage fighter, returned to court level at one-set all against the American after bad light interrupted the match on Thursday and showed nerves of steel, breaking serve in the seventh game of the decider to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.<br /><br />With rain clouds still threatening to disrupt the programme the 24-year-old Ward, who knocked out fourth seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round, is due back on court later to face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.<br /><br />There was further good news for British players, if not the fans who had bought tickets, when second seed Andy Murray was given a walkover into the semifinals after Croatian opponent Marin Cilic withdrew because of an ankle injury.<br /><br />World number one Rafael Nadal will aim for a semifinal spot later when he plays French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga while Andy Roddick, bidding for a record fifth title at the west London tournament, is up against Spain's Fernando Verdasco. <br /><br />Nadal suffered a late blip against unseeded Czech Radek Stepanek before reaching the quarterfinals on Thursday.<br /><br />The world number one, fresh from his record-equalling sixth French Open title, looked in total command against Stepanek as he served for the match in the second set but a rare collapse kept the Spaniard on court for longer than he wanted before he walked off with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 victory. <br /><br />"For sure, I'm a bit tired," Nadal said on court before hurrying off to play doubles with partner Marc Lopez. "5-2, 5-3, 40-15 he played well. I made a few mistakes and you know that's the turning point. The beginning of the third was tough but after that I think I played my best. Much better than yesterday." <br /><br />Second seed Murray, who will spend the next few weeks shouldering Britain's hopes of a first men's Grand Slam champion since 1936, beat flashy Serb Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 7-6 despite losing his service at the start of each set. <br /><br />While Roddick cruised past towering South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4, Verdasco was a 7-5, 6-1 winner against David Nalbandian. <br /><br />Another Argentine to fall was Juan Martin del Potro, who was bundled out in two tie-breaks by Frenchman Mannarino. Cilic made it a bad day for South Americans as he ousted Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci 7-6, 0-6, 6-3.</p>
<p>London cabbie's son Ward, ranked 216 in the world and trained by an Argentine cage fighter, returned to court level at one-set all against the American after bad light interrupted the match on Thursday and showed nerves of steel, breaking serve in the seventh game of the decider to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.<br /><br />With rain clouds still threatening to disrupt the programme the 24-year-old Ward, who knocked out fourth seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round, is due back on court later to face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.<br /><br />There was further good news for British players, if not the fans who had bought tickets, when second seed Andy Murray was given a walkover into the semifinals after Croatian opponent Marin Cilic withdrew because of an ankle injury.<br /><br />World number one Rafael Nadal will aim for a semifinal spot later when he plays French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga while Andy Roddick, bidding for a record fifth title at the west London tournament, is up against Spain's Fernando Verdasco. <br /><br />Nadal suffered a late blip against unseeded Czech Radek Stepanek before reaching the quarterfinals on Thursday.<br /><br />The world number one, fresh from his record-equalling sixth French Open title, looked in total command against Stepanek as he served for the match in the second set but a rare collapse kept the Spaniard on court for longer than he wanted before he walked off with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 victory. <br /><br />"For sure, I'm a bit tired," Nadal said on court before hurrying off to play doubles with partner Marc Lopez. "5-2, 5-3, 40-15 he played well. I made a few mistakes and you know that's the turning point. The beginning of the third was tough but after that I think I played my best. Much better than yesterday." <br /><br />Second seed Murray, who will spend the next few weeks shouldering Britain's hopes of a first men's Grand Slam champion since 1936, beat flashy Serb Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 7-6 despite losing his service at the start of each set. <br /><br />While Roddick cruised past towering South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4, Verdasco was a 7-5, 6-1 winner against David Nalbandian. <br /><br />Another Argentine to fall was Juan Martin del Potro, who was bundled out in two tie-breaks by Frenchman Mannarino. Cilic made it a bad day for South Americans as he ousted Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci 7-6, 0-6, 6-3.</p>
