Enlarge imageBy Paul Majendie
LONDON (Reuters) - Wimbledon's new multi-million pound Centre Court roof is not expected to make its debut at the Championships on Monday with forecasters predicting only a 20 percent chance of any rain interruptions.
The first morning of the year's third grand slam was cloudy and cool with only a "slight risk of patchy light rain passing over the courts during the day," organisers said.
The honour of opening proceedings on the main show court at the All England Club falls to five-time champion Roger Federer, who faces Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan, after holder Rafa Nadal pulled out with knee trouble on Friday.
In a country where the national obsession is talking about the weather, tennis fans will be lost for words on Wimbledon's hallowed Centre Court this year.
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There will be no more rain-drenched spectators huddled under umbrellas stoically sipping tea waiting for the rain to stop.
For the first time in its 87-year existence, Centre Court can be turned into an indoor arena thanks to a new retractable roof.
The cost has never been officially revealed but estimates run as high as 80 million pounds -- the price of Real Madrid's bid for Manchester United's Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cynics have quipped that this was an awful lot of money for Wimbledon to spend just to silence Cliff Richard.
PRICELESS BONUS
The pop star famously serenaded the Centre Court crowd during a 1996 rain break with Martina Navratilova, Pam Shriver and Virginia Wade as his impromptu backing singers.
"No price is too high to silence Sir Cliff Richard," The Sunday Times concluded on the eve of Wimbledon 2009.
Once the roof is closed and the court dried out by a state-of-the-art humidity control system, play can now resume after a delay of just 40 minutes.
For organisers broadcasting the tournament to 185 countries around the world that is a huge plus. For the 15,000 spectators in the newly expanded stands it is a priceless bonus.
There will be no more nightmare scenarios like last year when Spaniard Nadal and Swiss Federer played out arguably the greatest men's singles final of all time in a rain-interrupted marathon that ended in the gathering evening gloom.
Former British number one Tim Henman, once a doubter but now a fan of the covered court, put it through its paces last month when playing with Kim Clijsters in a mixed doubles match against Andre Agassi and the American's wife Steffi Graff.
Agassi raved about the acoustics. "The movement felt good, the court felt very solid and the sound was magnificent. The way the ball sounds is going to add to the intensity," he forecast.
The weather forecast for the first week of Wimbledon 2009 is excellent with only a 10 percent chance of showers.
(Editing by Ken Ferris)
