Rain nightmare is ‘ghastly’, says Wimbledon chief
July 05, 2007
LONDON: Wimbledon chiefs will resist the temptation to ask players to play twice a day as the rain-soaked 2007 championships face a crisis-level backlog of matches and the prospect of a third week extension.
With seven of the first eight days all rain-affected, the tournament is 178 matches behind schedule after torrential downpours, thunder and lightning conspired to make this Wimbledon the wettest since 1982.
“It’s utterly ghastly,” said tournament referee Andrew Jarrett.
“It’s a serious situation, one of great concern, but we are looking at it on a daily basis and we will do whatever we can to complete the Championships on time.”
More rain is predicted for later Wednesday although the prospects are better for Thursday through until Sunday when the weather is expected to be sunnier and more settled.
However, even if the weather improves, some players face the prospect of having to compete everyday.
Men’s second seed Rafael Nadal has yet to finish his third round clash with Sweden’s Robin Soderling, which is in a final set. They had been due to finish that tie on Saturday.
If French Open champion Nadal were to make the final, he would have had to play seven days in succession.
But Jarrett ruled out asking top stars to play two rounds on the same day.
“We would fight against asking them to play twice in a day,” he said. The last time time the tournament was extended into a third week was in 2001 when Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Rafter to win the men’s singles title on the third Monday.
On Wednesday, 123 matches in all events are scheduled. In the men’s fourth round, third seed Andy Roddick opens Centre Court action when he resumes his battle with France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu leading 6-2, 6-5.
That will be followed by Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova attempting to complete their fourth round match, which managed just three points on Tuesday.
Top seed Justine Henin then faces Serena Williams in the quarter-finals. On Court One, Nadal and Soderling resume their third round clash level at 4-4 in the decider before Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga face off in an-all French fourth round tussle.
On Court Two, men’s fourth seed Novak Djokovic tries to complete his third round tie against Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer with the pair standing at a set apiece. Marion Bartoli and Michaella Krajicek then meet in the second women’s quarter-final.
With seven of the first eight days all rain-affected, the tournament is 178 matches behind schedule after torrential downpours, thunder and lightning conspired to make this Wimbledon the wettest since 1982.
“It’s utterly ghastly,” said tournament referee Andrew Jarrett.
“It’s a serious situation, one of great concern, but we are looking at it on a daily basis and we will do whatever we can to complete the Championships on time.”
More rain is predicted for later Wednesday although the prospects are better for Thursday through until Sunday when the weather is expected to be sunnier and more settled.
However, even if the weather improves, some players face the prospect of having to compete everyday.
Men’s second seed Rafael Nadal has yet to finish his third round clash with Sweden’s Robin Soderling, which is in a final set. They had been due to finish that tie on Saturday.
If French Open champion Nadal were to make the final, he would have had to play seven days in succession.
But Jarrett ruled out asking top stars to play two rounds on the same day.
“We would fight against asking them to play twice in a day,” he said. The last time time the tournament was extended into a third week was in 2001 when Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Rafter to win the men’s singles title on the third Monday.
On Wednesday, 123 matches in all events are scheduled. In the men’s fourth round, third seed Andy Roddick opens Centre Court action when he resumes his battle with France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu leading 6-2, 6-5.
That will be followed by Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova attempting to complete their fourth round match, which managed just three points on Tuesday.
Top seed Justine Henin then faces Serena Williams in the quarter-finals. On Court One, Nadal and Soderling resume their third round clash level at 4-4 in the decider before Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga face off in an-all French fourth round tussle.
On Court Two, men’s fourth seed Novak Djokovic tries to complete his third round tie against Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer with the pair standing at a set apiece. Marion Bartoli and Michaella Krajicek then meet in the second women’s quarter-final.
