30 June,2009 11:40 AM IST | | AFP
Andy Murray was angry that his Wimbledon fourth round clash was played under the new 80-million-pound Centre Court roof, but believes the steambath conditions it creates could prove a powerful ally.
The third seeded Briton reached the quarter-finals on Monday with a roller-coaster 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win over Swiss 19th Stanilas Wawrinka in the latest ever finish in tournament history.
The fourth round tie, played under the new roof which was closed following earlier rain, ended at 2239 (2139GMT), beating the previous latest end of 2135 (2035GMT) in 1981.
Murray, bidding to become the first British men's Wimbledon champion since Fred Perry in 1936, will now face Spain's former French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero for a place in the semi-finals.
And despite his reservations, he believes he'll have the advantage if that match is played under the gleaming 1,000-tonne roof.
"When you haven't experienced something before, it's tough to just walk out there and know how the court's going to play," said Murray.
"Now I know how I'll have to change my game if I do play under the roof, and I'll know the way that the court plays. In my opinion, there's quite a big difference."
Murray believes the court is a different beast when it is covered, changing the whole dynamic of a grasscourt match.
"It's very heavy and very humid and you are sweating so much. I noticed it very early.
"When I finished, it was like I'd been in a bath. So it kind of slowed it down a lot, and I struggled to serve because it wasn't coming off the strings that quickly."
The roof had been closed earlier in the day when heavy rain briefly replaced the 35-degree sunshine during the women's last 16 match between top seed Dinara Safina and France's Amelie Mauresmo.
Murray had been warming up in dry, hot outdoor conditions and was surprised to be told just minutes before the start of his match that the roof would remain shut.
"In my opinion, a decision should be made before that match is finished so they can let the players know in a decent amount of time what conditions they're going to be playing under," said Murray.
"I like playing indoors. But it's just when you haven't practiced or ever played a match under a roof on grass, you don't know what to expect."
The roof had been closed at 1535GMT when 2006 women's champion Mauresmo was 6-4, 1-4 ahead of top seed Safina.
The players returned 45 minutes later with the Frenchwoman eventually going on to lose 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to the world number one.
"It makes the conditions a little bit different. I would say the ball is flying a little bit more," said Mauresmo.
"Visually when the ball is in the air and when you have the overhead, it's very bright. But it's a plus, definitely, for the tournament to be able to play (under the roof)."
The roof took up to 10 minutes to close, but action could not resume for around another half an hour to allow the air management system to create the right playing conditions.
Safina said she enjoyed the experience.
"It was a really nice atmosphere to play under the roof, because somehow you feel the crowd a little bit more," said the Russian.
"I didn't have any problems adjusting. I felt pretty comfortable."
All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie said: "We've been waiting for it for so long, it's the first time ever at Wimbledon somebody's waiting for rain, but we'd still prefer the sunshine."
