Carlos Alcaraz made to fight as he enters Wimbledon last 16

Spaniard battles past Nicolas Jarry of Chile

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates winning his match against Nicolas Jarry of Chile at the Wimbledon championships. EPA

Carlos Alcaraz reached the last 16 at Wimbledon on Saturday after a tough battle against Nicolas Jarry.

Rain returned to the All England Club, meaning play on Centre Court started under the roof.

Top seed Alcaraz, who is seen as the biggest threat to Novak Djokovic and who won the grass-court Queen's tournament last month, was made to work hard for the win by his Chilean opponent before prevailing 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 7-5.

Alcaraz bounced back from losing his first set of the tournament to lead 2-1 but narrowly avoided going a double break down in the fourth set before rediscovering his mojo.

"I'm really happy with the level that I played to get through this really tough match," said a relieved Alcaraz.

"It was really, really close. He has great shots... I would say the key is to believe all the time and stay focused."

The world No1 was frequently on the ropes against the imposing Chilean but always managed to find another gear.

The US Open winner ultimately had too much in his locker to be sent packing by Jarry, but he still showed some vulnerability at times that better opponents than the 28th-ranked Jarry will seize on.

Aryna Sabalenka plays a forehand against Anna Blinkova. Getty

The Chilean, who looks even bigger than his stated 6'6" frame, made his size count.

His slingshot was a massive and relentlessly consistent serve and a pummelling forehand that at times did real damage to the Spaniard.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev lost the first set against close friend Marton Fucsovics but recovered to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Andy Murray in a five-set thriller over two days in the second round, eased past Serbia's Laslo Djere in straight sets.

Holger Rune saved two match points to defeat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and reach the Wimbledon last 16. The Danish sixth seed came through 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10/8) after Davidovich Fokina served underarm at 8/8 in the final-set tiebreaker.

In the women's section, Aryna Sabalenka got sucked into what she described as "a nightmare" but the Belarusian was thankful to emerge unscathed as she kept alive her Wimbledon dream with a 6-2, 6-3 third round victory against Russian Anna Blinkova.

"It was like a nightmare, it was a tough game. Somehow I managed to finish that game with a win, but it was crazy and I was super happy to handle myself in that situation," Sabalenka told the crowd in a courtside interview.

Sabalenka will face another Russian in round four after 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova was the first female winner on day six with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Dalma Galfi on Court 18.

Meanwhile, last year's runner-up Ons Jabeur saw her match against former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu halted because of rain.

The match was finely poised at one seat each with Andreescu just ahead at 3-2 in the decider.