The article incorrectly indicated that the British Commonwealth had not had a Wimbledon men's singles champion since 1936. Although Fred Perry in 1936 was the last British men's champion, Australian men have won the title 16 times since then.
Wimbledon's Longest Day
Roddick and Williams Sisters Advance to Quarterfinals
Andy Murray keeps Britain's hopes alive for a long-awaited men's Wimbledon champion with a five-set win over Stanislas Wawrinka under the new roof.
(By Sang Tan -- Associated Press)
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
WIMBLEDON, England, June 29 -- Roger Federer has long maintained that Wimbledon doesn't get interesting until the second week.
Monday's action at the All England club proved him prescient beyond measure.
By day's end -- which in this case stretched until 10:39 p.m., more than an hour past the tournament record -- Americans accounted for three of the 16 players earning spots in the quarterfinals, with second-seeded Serena Williams, third-seeded Venus Williams and sixth-seeded Andy Roddick advancing in straight sets.
But it was the lone Brit, Scotland's Andy Murray, who provided a fortnight's worth of drama with a five-set victory that preserved the Commonwealth's hope of crowning its first men's Wimbledon champion since 1936.
Earning close second billing was Centre Court's $132 million retractable roof, which was coaxed into its competitive debut by passing afternoon showers and wisely kept in place to enable Murray's 3-hour 57-minute ordeal against Stanislas Wawrinka to be completed under the lights, rather than halted for darkness.
Murray fell to his knees, physically and emotionally spent, when his final shot, a forehand winner down the line, clinched the 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory over Wawrinka, who has long labored in the shadow of Switzerland's superstar player, Federer.
"It was obviously a great come-through," said Murray, 22, who opened the match in a bit of a fog, explaining later that he was puzzled by tournament officials' decision to keep the roof closed -- given that the rain had passed -- and addled by the brightness, with artificial light augmenting the natural light that filtered through the translucent structure.
In no time Murray trailed 4-0.
After a miserable first set, he roared back to take a two-sets-to-one lead. In doing so, he reinvigorated the fretful crowd. They cheered his daring drop shots and fearless returns of serve. But their spirits sank anew as Wawrinka reclaimed the momentum, breaking Murray's serve to force a decisive fifth set.
By then the grounds were dark as pitch, but the ticketless throng watching on a giant TV screen from a nearby hillside refused to budge. Inside, fans refused to let Murray fold. And he thanked them for it afterward.
"Always when you play indoors it's great," Murray said during his on-court interview. "But when you've got 15,000 people supporting you, it makes it extra special."
Earlier Monday, Venus and Serena Williams took one step closer to a reprise of last year's Wimbledon final.
