Andy Murray Shades It As New Roof Takes Heat Off Royal Box at Wimbledon
Britain's big hope has to break sweat for victory in temperatures hitting 33C
Despite it being one of the sunniest days on record, the new state of the art retractable Center Court roof designed to protect the famous grass from inclement weather was pressed into action at Wimbledon for the first time today.
The new structure, part of an ongoing £100m overhaul by the All England Club, was inched across by several feet not to keep out the rain but to shade the inhabitants of the royal box from the glare of the sun.
At that price, it might have been cheaper to buy green and purple sun hats for those with seats in the area, scheduled to include Prince Michael of Kent. Meanwhile, St John Ambulance reported that more than 90 people had been treated for a range of mostly heat-related incidents.
"They probably got up too early, didn't have enough breakfast, and then came here and got overexcited in the hot sun," said a spokesman.
Perhaps it was the heat, with temperatures reaching 33 degrees on Centre Court, but Murray-mania initially seemed a touch subdued at Wimbledon yesterday as the 22-year-old got his much-hyped campaign under way with a three sets to one victory over the unseeded American Robert Kendrick.
There was a scare when Kendrick won the second set on a tie break. But Andy Murray, who has seen expectations rocket in the last year as he has risen to number three in the world – and then as the reigning champion, Rafael Nadal, withdrew due to injury – rallied to win 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. "The longer the match went on, the more comfortable I felt," he said afterwards.
As the match began there was little of the fervor that will surely accompany Murray's progress if he makes it to the later rounds and towards a potential final with six-time winner Roger Federer.
On court it was a different matter, with enthusiastic backing for the world number three, watched by his mother, Judy, and his girlfriend, Kim Sears. Wags calling "Come on Tim" were swiftly shouted down. Up on the mound, there was more enthusiasm as the match progressed and Kendrick proved to be far from a pushover.
But although Murray has matured, the Wimbledon crowd showed signs of still not being completely won over. Graham Miller, 25, and Allanna Skeels, 23, from London summed up the Murray paradox as they opened a bottle of Pimms .
"Once he gets a few wins under his belt I think the crowd will get behind him. I think it could definitely be a Federer-Murray final," said Miller. But Skeels said while she would be backing Murray, she still struggled to warm to him. "He's a bit grumpy. Tim Henman was so happy and smiley and everyone loved him. Smile, you're a millionaire and you're 22."
But Murray's advisers believe his no-nonsense image, fondness for video games, Big Brother and Twitter (which revealed he enjoyed "chicken pasta 4 lunch" and was "feeling good") appeal to a young demographic that is turned off by the stuffiness of the All England Club. And there were signs that they might be right in the queue for returned Championship tennis balls.
Fifteen-year-old friends Bethany Friend and Abi Knight were enthusiastically united in their belief that this could be Murray's year. "I really like him, for obvious reasons," said Friend. "With Nadal gone, he can do it. We're right behind him," added Knight.
Up on the mound, by the third set the combination of a more competitive than expected clash and greater quantities of alcohol consumed saw any reserve towards Murray dropped. "Come ON Andy!" many in the tightly-packed crowd watching the big screen urged as their man started to take control.
By the end of the day Murray left to a standing ovation and found himself in the familiar position of being the only British success story on an otherwise dire day for home hopes.
Wild card Alex Bogdanovic lost his eighth straight Wimbledon first round match and Anne Keothavong, the British women's number one, broke down in tears after letting a lead slip in her match against Patricia Mayr.
The new structure, part of an ongoing £100m overhaul by the All England Club, was inched across by several feet not to keep out the rain but to shade the inhabitants of the royal box from the glare of the sun.
At that price, it might have been cheaper to buy green and purple sun hats for those with seats in the area, scheduled to include Prince Michael of Kent. Meanwhile, St John Ambulance reported that more than 90 people had been treated for a range of mostly heat-related incidents.
"They probably got up too early, didn't have enough breakfast, and then came here and got overexcited in the hot sun," said a spokesman.
Perhaps it was the heat, with temperatures reaching 33 degrees on Centre Court, but Murray-mania initially seemed a touch subdued at Wimbledon yesterday as the 22-year-old got his much-hyped campaign under way with a three sets to one victory over the unseeded American Robert Kendrick.
There was a scare when Kendrick won the second set on a tie break. But Andy Murray, who has seen expectations rocket in the last year as he has risen to number three in the world – and then as the reigning champion, Rafael Nadal, withdrew due to injury – rallied to win 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. "The longer the match went on, the more comfortable I felt," he said afterwards.
As the match began there was little of the fervor that will surely accompany Murray's progress if he makes it to the later rounds and towards a potential final with six-time winner Roger Federer.
On court it was a different matter, with enthusiastic backing for the world number three, watched by his mother, Judy, and his girlfriend, Kim Sears. Wags calling "Come on Tim" were swiftly shouted down. Up on the mound, there was more enthusiasm as the match progressed and Kendrick proved to be far from a pushover.
But although Murray has matured, the Wimbledon crowd showed signs of still not being completely won over. Graham Miller, 25, and Allanna Skeels, 23, from London summed up the Murray paradox as they opened a bottle of Pimms .
"Once he gets a few wins under his belt I think the crowd will get behind him. I think it could definitely be a Federer-Murray final," said Miller. But Skeels said while she would be backing Murray, she still struggled to warm to him. "He's a bit grumpy. Tim Henman was so happy and smiley and everyone loved him. Smile, you're a millionaire and you're 22."
But Murray's advisers believe his no-nonsense image, fondness for video games, Big Brother and Twitter (which revealed he enjoyed "chicken pasta 4 lunch" and was "feeling good") appeal to a young demographic that is turned off by the stuffiness of the All England Club. And there were signs that they might be right in the queue for returned Championship tennis balls.
Fifteen-year-old friends Bethany Friend and Abi Knight were enthusiastically united in their belief that this could be Murray's year. "I really like him, for obvious reasons," said Friend. "With Nadal gone, he can do it. We're right behind him," added Knight.
Up on the mound, by the third set the combination of a more competitive than expected clash and greater quantities of alcohol consumed saw any reserve towards Murray dropped. "Come ON Andy!" many in the tightly-packed crowd watching the big screen urged as their man started to take control.
By the end of the day Murray left to a standing ovation and found himself in the familiar position of being the only British success story on an otherwise dire day for home hopes.
Wild card Alex Bogdanovic lost his eighth straight Wimbledon first round match and Anne Keothavong, the British women's number one, broke down in tears after letting a lead slip in her match against Patricia Mayr.
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