Fourth day’s play washed out

WIMBLEDON, June 26: With the London Met office conveying the news that more rain was on the way, play was abandoned at 1800 hours local tim...

WIMBLEDON, June 26: With the London Met office conveying the news that more rain was on the way, play was abandoned at 1800 hours local time, on the fourth day of the 111th edition of The Championships, today. Friday July 3, 1992 was the last time not a ball was hit here. That also raises the chances of matches being rescheduled on People’s Sunday, the middle Sunday of the tournament. That was perhaps the only bright spot which emanated from two dismal, rainy days where just two matches could be completed.

Play was held on the middle Sunday way back in 1991 for the first time when thousands of people flocked to the All England Club. Admission was free and places were allocated on a first come, first serve basis. The traditional atmosphere was all forgotten as spectators revelled in soccer-style scenes.

Meanwhile, Alan Mills, referee of the tournament, has not ruled out the possibility of making the men’s singles into best of three sets leading upto the quarter-finals, as rains wrecked havoc with the schedule. The forecast for the next couple of days are not all encouraging either, even as it fell 130 matches behind schedule.

“We would just take it round by round. I cannot see the final being the best of three sets, and probably not even the semi-finals. We would probably do what we have done with the men’s doubles, upto the quarter-final, if we have to do it,” Mills said.

Mills said they had already reduced the men’s doubles to best of three sets and said that playing on Sunday is an option they were seriously considering. “Sunday at the moment is obviously an option that’s being considered.

We cannot at this point in time make a decision. There are a lot of other people who are involved, like the Council, the police and we have got to get permission from those bodies, before we even contemplate doing it. There are a lot of ponderables before a final decision is made.”

In 1991, the decision to play on Sunday was taken as late as Friday evening. Sunday option could be the last resort because the security staff and the stewards have to be persuaded to give up their day off while the local Council is highly sensitive to the objections from residents living around the Club.

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“Sunday is a stocking-up day for the second week and so all their logistical problems have to be brought into consideration as well,” Mills said.

Rating this as the wettest Wimbledon he has ever since, Mills said that there isn’t a day in the next five days when there will be a fine, clear, warm and sunny day. “Well, we can actually go on until we finish,” Mills said about the latest possible day the final could be played.

“I think it was 1922 where the outside courts weren’t covered, but the referee struggled through and finished on the third Wednesday. But that was probably a much smaller draw than what we are trying to cope with here.

“We like to think that Tuesday is probably the latest we could into because players have other commitments and other tournaments and Wednesday is probably the latest they are allowed to arrive to play at other tournaments.

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I would think Tuesday would be probably a deadline.” He said it was upto the players to miss a Wimbledon final if it had to be scheduled on Wednesday.

Mills said there were still 26 ladies who haven’t played their first round singles and six men who are yet to finish their first round. He said he has never reached a point where he had to reduce the men’s singles to best of three. “It hasn’t been done, as far as I can remember. ’