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7/1/09 1:20 PM | Johan Lindahl
Television income is driving the about-face for Wimbledon night play now that the roof and lights are in place and the extra television money is going begging.
Andy Murray's Monday win which ended at 10:30 pm to start the week opened the floodgates, with the new roof and lights put to the test. And now, officials are rolling back the vow that the event is "daytime-only".
The payoff: up a reported $10 million in additional television income for the richest event on the calendar. "It could go on all night, there is no limit or cut-off", a spokesman said of future matches. "We will play to the finish - whatever time that may be".
And club boss Ian Ritchie also did a massive 180 as he spun the concept of grass tennis after dark.
Just a day after telling London media: "I quite like it being a day event. The advantage of having a roof is if there is one match that is behind schedule, you can finish them". The master balancer then switched sides dramatically as Wimbledon loses its identity as a unique event and morphs into just another big-budget "tennisathon" like the US and Australian Opens.
"The mantra is that it's an outdoor summer event, and we've been blessed with sunshine, but if the circumstances dictate, that's what (the roof) is there for", London media reported.
Matches in New York and Melbourne regularly end after midnight with the record a pre-dawn wrapup by Lleyton Hewitt in 2008 against Marcos Baghdatis. Murray has complained heavily that the grass plays completely differently with the roof closed.
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Adjusting to different playing conditions under the roof makes Wimbledon even more exciting.
tejas , 7/2/09 8:56 AM
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Absolutely disgusting is the idea to think that players may just play however unsuitable/suitable the conditions may be - it's bad enough.
steppo , 7/1/09 8:36 PM