Andy Murray says it is a difficult situation for tournament director or the referee with the roof
Andy Murray feels Wimbledon’s Centre Court roof policy is still very much a work in progress.
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The World No 4 was the latest winner in Wimbledon history last night when he completed his 7-5 3-6 7-5 6-1 victory over Marcos Baghdatis at 11.02pm to move into the fourth round.
Andy Murray celebrates during his match against Cyprus’ Marcos Baghdatis at the Wimbledon on Saturday. Pic/AFP
The roof has been a real feature of a dramatic first week at the All England Club, with Centre Court covered while Rafael Nadal lost to Lukas Rosol and Roger Federer fought back from two sets down against Julien Benneteau.
It looked very much like Murray would have to come back today to finish the match as the clock reached 11pm, Wimbledon’s curfew, but, with the Scot poised to serve for the match, he was allowed to carry on and duly wrapped up victory in a raucous atmosphere.
Wimbledon chiefs have come in for criticism for the way they have used the four-year-old roof, particularly on Friday when it was on for the whole day despite there being little rain.
Murray said: “With the roof there’s always going to be some difficult situations for the tournament director or the referee.
Yesterday’s match was a perfect example.
“Do we start the match with the roof on so there’s no delays? On Friday I think they got criticised quite a lot because it didn’t rain at all and the roof was shut the whole day, when it shouldn’t have been, because it’s obviously meant to be an outdoor event.
“I think that was probably one that they might have made a mistake on. Apart from that, people want to see tennis. If it does rain, having the roof is a huge benefit because there is always guaranteed matches going on.
“There are always going to be difficult situations when you only have one court with the roof, because obviously for me now it’s an advantage that I got the match finished.
“Other years I would have had to play three sets on Monday. Cilic played 17-15 in the fifth set. I’m sure he would have rather I was having to play three sets on Monday before playing against him.”
Mum watches
Murray was watched by his usual support team as he battled his way past Baghdatis, with mum Judy back in his corner after spending the rest of the day in the Royal Box.
The Fed Cup captain was accompanied by her mother Shirley Erskine, and Murray said: “I saw my mum beforehand. I don’t normally see her out of a tracksuit so I think she was a little bit nervous about the outfit. But I think they really, really enjoyed it.”
The dress got the thumbs-up from the 25-year-old, who said: “I thought she looked nice.”
Things certainly do not get easier from here, with Cilic on an eight-match winning streak on grass after benefiting from David Nalbandian’s moment of madness in the AEGON Championships final at Queen's Club.
The Croatian also knows what it is like to beat Murray at a grand slam having ousted him in the fourth round of the US Open in 2009, his only victory in six attempts.
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