Rain delays play at Wimbledon again on Saturday

Rain delayed play in the morning for a second straight day at Wimbledon on Saturday, with organizers already having some catching up to do after several matches were suspended overnight.

Light rain fell over the All England Club and play on the outside courts was postponed for a delay of one hour, 45 minutes.

However, the weather forecast said showers could continue until well into the afternoon, possibly disrupting an already crammed schedule. Four of the men's third-round matches were not completed on Friday because of rain, including Ben Shelton's match against Canada's Denis Shapovalov which was first up on No. 1 Court.

Rain suspended play on Friday with Shelton leading 3-2 in the opening set.

One match will not have to be played, however, as ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur received a walkover into the fourth round when his opponent Lucas Pouille, a qualifier from France, withdrew with an abdominal injury.

Other big names on court later included seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who was playing Alexei Popyrin in the late match on Centre Court, and women's No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who faced Yulia Putintseva on No. 1 Court.

In women's doubles action, Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe were tied 1-1 in the first set against Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova and Irina Khromacheva when play was suspended on Friday.

Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and Japan's Ena Shibahara lost their opening set 6-2 to Estonia's Ingrid Neel and Norway's Ulrikke Eikeri before the suspension of play.