WIMBLEDON took a pause for breath yesterday.

Centre Court lay open to the showers and the sun, and they took it in turns to beat down on south-west London. The sense of serenity is temporary. The tournament's rest day follows a week of dramatic turbulence and precedes six days that will almost certainly defy the most learned of tennis scholars.

The roof over Centre Court this week held captive a veritable tumult. Two of the best players in the world teetered on the brink of extinction from the tournament. One of them, Rafael Nadal, succumbed to the extraordinary. Roger Federer, a six-time champion at Wimbledon, barely survived his encounter with the workmanlike Julien Benneteau. Andy Murray, meanwhile, was forced to produce a performance of powerful extravagance to extricate himself from the deep hole dug for him on the most famous piece of grass in tennis.

Nadal's departure can be best explained by his fatigue being complemented by the unerring belligerence of Lukas Rosol. Protected from the elements by the roof, the Spaniard fell victim to that perfect storm.

Federer's near-miss may be more mundane. He faces his 31st birthday next month and he is no longer invincible at Wimbledon. He is, however, still tough and talented beyond the dreams of most who challenge him.

Murray's escape was not quite as dramatic as that of Federer but the 25-year-old Scot had to defy both Marcos Baghdatis and the clock to make sure he could start his fourth-round match today with Marin Cilic on No.1 Court. He accomplished all of this with only minutes to spare.

The explosion of excitement this elicited from a packed Centre Court – and the eight million viewers watching on BBC – has obscured the more traditional values that ensured that week one at Wimbledon was deeply satisfying for the Scot and his entourage.

The synchronised jump from the spectators in Murray's box at the end of the Baghdatis match testified to the trials that the Scot had brilliantly overcome. One figure sat immobile. Ivan Lendl, an eight-time major champion and now Murray's coach, appeared as if he had just watched a particularly douce episode of the Antiques Roadshow.

Asked about his coolness, he replied drolly: "You mean I'm not falling out of the box like Dani? If I ever get fed up with him I can just push him over on to the court."

This fate will not befall Dani Vallverdu, part of Team Murray. Lendl is determined to maintain a decorum in the midst of the madness Murray routinely produces at Wimbledon.

"I don't see any need to change my style. I've had a lot of training for this with my kids in golf; many times I've caddied for them or followed them. I never showed any emotion or nerves because it just transferred to the kids. I thought that approach served me and the kids well and I don't see this as any different."

Two of Lendl's daughters – Isabelle and Marika – are excellent golfers, with the former finishing third in the Connecticut Open in May.

"This is a higher level," said Lendl of his relationship with Murray, "but the principle is the same."

It was possible to detect the merest flicker of satisfaction from the coach. Asked if Murray was in a "good place", he replied: "He is in the second week."

His brisk evaluation of the week's work, though, was telling in that it pointed to the challenges Murray had overcome.

"When the draw came out you could see there were no easy opponents. Nikolay Davydenko knows how to play tennis, he has been No.3 in the world. Ivo Karlovic has won big matches and he was averaging 119mph between his first and second serve. I don't think I hit a first serve ever that hard. Marcos Baghdatis is also a good player."

Murray now has to play Cilic, who will pose a substantial obstacle to progress to the quarter-finals. The 23-year-old Croat, seeded 16, was involved in his own drama on Saturday, beating Sam Querrey 17-15 in the fifth set in the second longest singles match at Wimbledon. Its five hours and 31 minutes is somewhat eclipsed by the 11 hours and five minutes John Isner and Nicolas Mahut spent on court in 2010.

"Every match will be a cup final now," said Murray, but he accepts he should be fresher than Cilic who was exhausted when he talked to the press on Saturday night. Indeed, he only had the lightest of hits with Pat Cash, the former Wimbledon champion, yesterday.

Murray will this week need to combine the best parts of his performances to make it to next Sunday. He showed a wonderful fluidity and confidence against Davydenko, he was brilliant in defence against Karlovic and, after surviving a sticky spell against Baghdatis, he was irresistibly aggressive.

Murray refuses properly to look beyond the considerable challenge that Cilic presents but Juan Martin del Potro or David Ferrer then, possibly, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga stand between him and a seeded meeting with Novak Djokovic.

While Federer has hung on, Murray has battled though and Nadal has slipped out, Djokovic has progressed to today's meeting with countryman Viktor Troicki in relaxed fashion, dropping only a set. Troicki poses a limited threat and it is possible that the world No.1 will have to overcome Richard Gasquet and Federer for a place in the final.

Amid the febrile atmosphere of the past week, Djokovic has retained the coolness of someone who knows he is the best player left in the tournament. There are 15 other men, though, who would seek to challenge that assertion at some point this week.

This tournament is wonderfully unpredictable and has the capacity to enthral further. Yesterday was a day of rest. There will be precious little of that this week, and none for the two men who meet in the final on Sunday.