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| One step forward for the great British hope [GALLO/GETTY] |
Andy Murray survived a five-set thriller against Stanislas Wawrinka under Centre Court's new roof, to the delight of thousands of fans who roared him to victory against the inspired Swiss 19th seed.
The third seed needed nearly four hours to defeat Wawrinka under the lights in a match which finished at 10.38pm local time after officials decided to keep the roof closed because of the threat of rain.
Murray dropped the first set in 34 minutes, as he struggled with his first service before rallying to win 2-6 6-3 6-3 5-7 6-3.
Thousands remained transfixed to the giant screen on Henman Hill - named after the man who had caused British fans so many nail-biting evenings in the past - to join the 15,000 fans gripped on the edge of their seats inside the stunning arena.
Play finally finished when Murray belted a forehand winner into an open court, sending fans home buzzing at the prospect of the Scot ending the nation's 73-year wait for a men's singles champion at the grass court slam.
Great match
"It was obviously great to come through," Murray said.
"I had to play some great tennis tonight because Stan was playing some unbelievable tennis at the start."
The multi-million pound canopy had been redundant for the first week of Wimbledon, but after it made its competitive debut to allow Dinara Safina to overcome Amelie Mauresmo earlier in the day it provided the perfect backdrop for the tournament's best match so far.
"I was surprised we started under the roof...it was dry outside," Murray said when asked about playing indoors.
"It was very heavy and very humid and I was sweating a lot right from the start. I felt like I had been in a bath.
"It kind of slowed it down a lot, and I struggled to serve because it wasn't coming off the strings."
Murray said the players had also been affected by warming up outside then playing indoors.
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| Fans pack 'Henman Hill' to watch Murray's late night epic [GALLO/GETTY] |
"In very few sports would coaches and teams be particularly happy if they don't know exactly what time they're going to kick off, or what the conditions are going to be like when they go out there," he said.
The noise throughout the match was thunderous as spectators shouted their support for Murray, against a spirited opponent who served well and unleashed an exceptional backhand which kept Murray scrambling on the baseline.
"Playing indoors always makes a difference to the atmosphere and when there is noise it doesn't get lose anywhere," he said.
"That was probably the noisiest crowd I played in front of."
A dejected Wawrinka, who won the Beijing Olympics doubles gold medal last year with Roger Federer, said he had tried his utmost.
"For sure, I'm sorry," he said.
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