Wimbledon a Washed-Out Waterscape

Wimbledon’s reserve is beginning to crack under Mother Nature’s water torture.

For only the fourth time in 10 years, an entire day’s schedule was rained out. Fans who clogged the near-flooded grounds showed their usual good humor, cheerily singing songs in the stands and splashing through puddles while conga dancing under umbrellas with ushers and uniformed guards.

Less upbeat was tournament referee Alan Mills, whose job it is to shoehorn the rest of the schedule into the dwindling time left.

Fewer than half of the scheduled matches have been played. In the tournament’s first four days, 94 matches have been played, leaving the tournament 120 to 130 matches behind schedule, Mills said.

Rain delays are common at Wimbledon, but rainouts are not. This is only the 28th time in Wimbledon’s 111 years that a full day of play was lost.

The problem is beginning to be cumulative. Thursday was rained out, after only two matches had been completed Wednesday. There are 26 women’s first-round singles matches that have not been played and six men’s first-round singles matches.

While sheets of rain fell, forming lakes over much of the Wimbledon grounds, it was difficult to imagine that much of the country is operating under water-use restrictions, the result of a lengthy drought.

More than an inch of rain had fallen by late afternoon, making it likely that this would become the wettest June in England in a century.

The forecast is gloomy. At least until Monday, more rain is expected. Today’s forecast was predicted as “wet and miserable” by the Metropolitan Weather Center.

“Depressing,” Mills called it.

The long-range forecast is brief: rain until July.

Mills was reluctant to discuss the options available to officials, but Thursday he ordered the men’s doubles matches to be reduced from best-of-five to best-of-three sets. Once again, the start of play was moved up two hours.

Mills said he will consider reducing the men’s singles matches to best-of-three at least through the quarterfinals, but will wait until the completion of the first round before making that decision.

As play remains backed up into the second week, players lose the rest days that are built into the schedule. Those who also play doubles--such as Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Martina Hingis--are put under even further strain.

The prospect of playing Sunday has been raised, and it’s a more complicated undertaking than it might seem. The traditional middle Sunday off allows the All England Club to catch its breath, for crews to clean and repair the facilities and for the shops and restaurants to replenish their supplies.

The hundreds of volunteers, ball boys and girls, match officials and others would have to be called in. In addition, the local police and borough council must be consulted before this usually quiet suburb is subjected to an additional day of the trampling, noise and traffic that comes with Wimbledon.

The only time play has been scheduled for the middle Sunday was in 1991, when only 52 of about 240 matches had been played by Friday.

That day turned into a festive, even joyous event when spectators were treated to a substantially reduced entry fee. Fans who would never dream of watching a Centre Court match giggled and sang and generally threw starchy Wimbledon decorum out like so much confetti.

“I personally thought the middle Sunday in ’91 was probably the most inspiring day that I have spent at Wimbledon,” Mills said. “The atmosphere was just electric.”

Last year the women’s doubles and mixed doubles finals were held on the third Monday, despite the frantic efforts of schedulers.

Fans huddled in the few dry spots on the grounds Thursday, awaiting word on the status of play via the public-address system.

Word came about 6 p.m., accompanied by the soundtrack of the rain’s pitter-patter.

“It is with much sadness that I say we must abandon play,” the announcer said.

As on Wednesday, refunds were offered.

The prospect of play running into a third week would be expensive for the All England Club. Refunds from the eligible ticket-holders just from Wednesday and Thursday could cost the club as much as $1.2 million.

Television networks, too, are taking a hit. A producer with Australia’s 9 Network estimated the company was losing about $45,000 a day just from commercials that weren’t being aired.

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Wimbledon Washouts

Thursday’s washout was the 28th time not a single ball was struck during the day at Wimbledon. Here’s a chronology of some of the worst weather at the All England Club:

* 1922: Rain disrupted the first tournament at the current site on Church Road. During a three-day period in the second week, only 11 matches were completed. It took until the third Wednesday to complete the tournament.

* 1927: It rained every day of the tournament except for the first Monday, leading to play on a third Monday and Tuesday.

* 1963: Play was completed on the third Monday after a fortnight of cold rain.

* 1968: Excellent weather the second week, plus early starts on three days, helped overcome one of the wettest first weeks. The tournament managed to finish on time.

* 1972: There was play on a Sunday for the first time (the first or middle Sunday is traditionally a day off), as four finals were played this day. The second Saturday was washed out by the only rain of the week.

* 1985: It rained every day during the first week and play was started early on six consecutive days. During one 20-minute span on the second Friday, 1 1/2 inches of rain fell.

* 1989: The weather was nice until the end of the second week when it rained the final three days. Despite strong efforts, the tournament finished on the third Monday.

* 1991: Believed to be the wettest first week on record. The tournament was completed on time only through early starts and unprecedented play on the middle Sunday.

* 1996: Rain on most days of the second week caused play to be extended to the third Monday.

TODAY’S FEATURED MATCHES

WOMEN

* No. 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland vs. Olga Barabanschikova of Belarus

* Dominique van Roost of Belgium vs. No. 9 Mary Pierce of France

* Joannette Kruger of South Africa vs. No. 7 Anke Huber of Germany

* Venus Williams of United States vs. Magdalena Grzybowska of Poland

MEN

* Thomas Johansson of Sweden vs. No. 8 Boris Becker of Germany

* No. 1 Pete Sampras of United States vs. Hendrik Dreekmann of Germany

* Andrei Pavel of Romania vs. No. 4 Richard Krajicek of Netherlands

* Magnus Norman of Sweden vs. No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia