WIMBLEDON, England — They played into the night on Centre Court, later than anyone ever had in Wimbledon’s long history, and they played indoors, the first match contested entirely under the new roof.
And at 10:39 p.m. local time Monday, when No. 3-seeded Andy Murray of Britain finally finished off a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory over No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland to reach the quarterfinals at the All England Club, the partisan fans celebrated their guy’s win with a roar.
“It was pretty special,” said Murray, who dropped to his knees when the match ended, then stood and swatted a ball straight up so hard it hit the roof.
No man from Britain has won Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, and, like his countrymen, Murray — a 22-year-old from Scotland — is more interested in that sort of history than the sort he and Wawrinka made Monday.
Still, these circumstances were rather extraordinary, what with Centre Court’s roof shut, the lights on and a chance to play the match until its rightful conclusion, no matter how late. That’s never been the case at Wimbledon, where unlike the U.S. Open, there never has been lighted courts, and matches often are stopped in progress because of darkness. Previously, no Centre Court point had been played later than 9:35 p.m.
“I’ll have a pretty deep sleep after that one,” Murray said.
At a tournament that began in 1877, not a single point had been contested indoors until earlier Monday, when a light sprinkle interrupted No. 1-ranked Dinara Safina’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo. After the fifth game of the second set, the translucent roof above the main stadium was closed, and Safina and Mauresmo finished up underneath — even though by the time they resumed, the rain had stopped.
Because forecasts called for later showers (none arrived), organizers left the contraption sealed for Murray-Wawrinka, which turned out to be a fortuitous decision, even if Murray found the conditions “very, very heavy and very humid; sweating so much.”
“When I finished, it was like I’d been in a bath,” he said.
All in all, though, the day’s last match provided far more excitement than the generally open-and-shut cases that dominated the rest of the fourth round.
Five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer won easily, as did two-time runner-up Andy Roddick and No. 4 Novak Djokovic. Venus Williams, like Federer chasing a sixth title at the All England Club, was way ahead when her opponent, former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, quit with a thigh injury. Williams’ younger sister, Serena, a two-time Wimbledon champion, and No. 4 Elena Dementieva were never challenged in their straight-set victories.
At a glance
A look at Wimbledon on Monday:
Men’s fourth round: No. 2 Roger Federer beat No. 13 Robin Soderling, No. 3 Andy Murray beat No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 4 Novak Djokovic beat Dudi Sela, No. 6 Andy Roddick beat No. 20 Tomas Berdych, No. 22 Ivo Karlovic beat No. 7 Fernando Verdasco, No. 24 Tommy Haas beat No. 29 Igor Andreev, Juan Carlos Ferrero beat No. 8 Gilles Simon, Lleyton Hewitt beat No. 23 Radek Stepanek.
Women’s fourth round: No. 1 Dinara Safina beat No. 17 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 2 Serena Williams beat Daniela Hantuchova, No. 3 Venus Williams beat No. 13 Ana Ivanovic (retired with an injury while trailing), No. 4 Elena Dementieva beat Elena Vesnina, No. 8 Victoria Azarenka beat No. 10 Nadia Petrova, Sabine Lisicki beat No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 11 Agnieszka Radwanska beat Melanie Oudin, Francesca Schiavone beat No. 26 Virginie Razzano.
Stat of the day: 10:39 p.m. — The time Murray’s five-set victory over Wawrinka finished, more than an hour later than anyone ever had played on Centre Court.
Quote of the day: “They have a pretty good little weather system forecast thingy down in the magic little office down there. … If you have a roof, I think you use it. Otherwise, you’re waiting around, and what’s the roof for?” — Roddick, when asked whether the Centre Court roof was closed unnecessarily Monday
On court today: Safina vs. Lisicki, Serena Williams vs. Azarenka, Venus Williams vs. Radwanska, Dementieva vs. Schiavone in the women’s quarterfinals.
Today’s TV: ESPN2, 5-8 a.m. and 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; KUSA-9, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
