Organisers are facing their worst scheduling headache for 25 years at Wimbledon after rain once again disrupted play at the championships on Tuesday.

On a day usually reserved for women's quarter-finals, four men's third round matches, including that of second seed Rafael Nadal [Images], still await completion.

In 1982 over three times the average midsummer rainfall forced third round matches into the second Wednesday. The men's final, won by Jimmy Connors, was completed a day later than scheduled.

The backlog this year has not been helped by the organisers' decision not to play on the middle Sunday of the tournament, a tactic used on three previous occasions.

The championships last extended into a third week in 2001 when wildcard Goran Ivanisevic defeated Australia's Pat Rafter in a five-set thriller.

Although a retractable roof over Centre Court will be in place for the 2009 championships, this would only have guaranteed the completion of four or five matches per day if bad weather continued to plague the tournament.

Image: Spectators watch Sue Barker on the screen as they shield from the rain.

• Wimbledon Championships 2007