Today is a red-letter day in the diaries of budget-conscious tennis devotees. Wimbledon's policy of giving their neighbouring residents a 24-hour break from the mayhem that goes with the annual summer showpiece also provides an opportunity for fans to get a cheaper look at some of the game's top players. With four notable weather-related exceptions, Wimbledon organisers have made the Middle Sunday a rest day since the two-week event moved to its Church Road home at the All England Club in 1919.
This makes for a more balanced second week, which begins today with the appearance of all of those still alive in the main draw. Only 12 of those 32 survivors can be scheduled on the two main courts, with another six preparing for battle on Court Two. This means the new show court No 12 will be the target for stampeding fans clutching £20 (Dh110) ground entry tickets when the gates open at 10.30 this morning.
Fourth-round matches involving Jelena Jankovic, the former women's No 1, and grand slam finalists Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Robin Soderling make it a bargain day out for those who claim the 1,020 places around the new arena created to compensate for the absence this year of Courts Three and Four. Keeping the Middle Sunday free from tennis and crowds means there is a pressing need for a dry second Monday, which from last year onwards became the last day when planning for the Championships can be wrecked by the weather that has spoiled so many previous Wimbledons.
The construction of the new £80-million roof over Centre Court means that downpours which have in recent years brought chaotic endings to the fortnight are now less relevant. Providing all 16 main singles matches are completed today, there are enough hours of court time over the ensuing six days to play both sets of quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals "indoors" on Centre Court if inclement weather dictates.
That is a significant step forward to the tournament referee Andrew Jarrett who, paradoxically, before the overdue arrival of the roof, tolerated interruptions much more readily in the first week when hundreds of matches are scheduled, than in the second week when the programme is comparatively light. Thirteen times since 1919 has the tournament needed to be extended into a third week, most memorably in 2001 when Goran Ivanisevic defeated Pat Rafter in a five-set thriller on the Third Monday and before that in 1988 when Stefan Edberg returned to beat Boris Becker after their Sunday final had been washed out.
Less frequent is play on the Middle Sunday and the provision of the roof will almost certainly mean it will never take place again. The last time play needed to be scheduled on that day was in 2004, when Roger Federer took a belated step towards the first of his three finals against Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova's teenage exuberance stood her in good stead for a glorious second week which saw her depose Serena Williams as women's champion.
To the top players, having Middle Sunday off is not a big deal. The careful structuring of the programme in rain-free years means that those who battle through to the respective finals get seven days off during the fortnight. The main significance of yesterday to Andy Murray, Britain's one and only hope for glory since the opening round, was that he could organise a morning practice session and then spend the afternoon watching England play Germany in the World Cup.
wjohnson@thenational.ae