The Telegraph - Jul 01 - Jul 07 2009
Page 46
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July 1 - 7, 2009
Sport
WIMBLEDON 2009
T
936
The Telegraph
By Caroline Gammell and Andrew Baker
IT WAS a scenario that few envisaged, but the first time that the retractable roof over Wimbledon’s Centre Court was used, it was as a sun shade.
As Andy Murray opened his title challenge with a four-set victory over the American Robert Kendrick, temperatures inside the court reached 92F (33.4C), prompting officials to move the 3,000 ton roof a few feet to shelter spectators in the Royal Box.
It was not quite the purpose for which the rain-defying structure, installed as part of a £100million refurbishment, was intended, but those lucky enough to be sitting in the roof’s shadow were not complaining.
And four days later, Centre Court spectators thought that the highlight of their day had passed when Murray had an early evening straight sets victory over Victor Troicki. But more excitement was to come.
At 7.50pm, as the drizzle that had hung in the air for an hour continued, the tournament’s loudspeakers blared: “There may be further play on Centre Court if the match now on No1 Court cannot be completed,” the club official intoned.
“The roof, the roof,” spectators throughout the arena hissed to each other. “They’re going to close the roof!” Centre Court has not seen such excitement since Sir Cliff sang in the rain.
Then 1,000 tonnes of steel and fabric began their majestic rumble across the top of the court, and Wimbledon’s spectators, so used to gazing at the heavens in dread, now looked upwards in wonder. The whole arena was then “air-conditioned” to bring the temperature within equal to that without.
All that was required now was for rain to fall in quantities sufficient to render play on No1 court impossible.
Both crowds were content. On No1, Fernando Gonzalez and Juan Carlos Ferrero continued their third-round match, to the delight of the crowd, while on Centre the customers gazed happily on the canopy that had clicked into place above their heads.
As the skies darkened, Gonzalez and Ferrero asked if they could stop playing. Only, the umpire appeared to suggest, if they moved across to Centre Court to complete the match. The players opted to continue.
Gonzalez succumbed to a double fault at match point in the fifth set, and the patient fans filed out of Centre Court saying that they had seen the roof in all its glory.
[ Centre Court redesign 2009 ]
The renovation of Centre Court began in 2001 and plans for the new roof were announced in 2004. After five years of design and construction work, the roof was ready for use in the first Centre Court Celebration Matches on May 17 this year.
The new fixed perimeter roof is modelled on the original 1922 dodecahedron form to preserve
the intimate Centre Court atmosphere, while
the translucent fabric of the moving roof is
designed to retain the open-air quality
of the 1920s stadium
RETRACTABLE
ROOF
‹ CENTRE COURT HISTORY ›
2009
2005
1922
[ How the ‘retractable’ roof works ]
0 mins
10 mins
20 mins
BARS AND RESTAURANTS
30 mins
40 mins
Referee makes the decision to close the roof
TRANSLUCENT
FABRIC ‘BAY’
‘OPENED’ STEEL
TRUSS
It takes 8-10 minutes for all ten trusses to open, and for the two halves to meet
‹ ROOFDEPLOYMENT ›
1 The roof consists of 10 steel trusses, each joined by a ‘bay’ of translucent fabric, divided into two halves at either end of the court
It will take a further 20-30 minutes for the air-management
system to create the correct conditions for play
2 When the roof is deployed, the first pair of trusses on each half of the roof move apart along parallel rails at each side of the structure
3 The process continues until the inner trusses on each half of the roof meet in the middle
10 trusses make up the Centre Court
roof
[ Conditions for play]
RAINFALL The watertight roof is curved at the top to ensure rainwater flows into gutters at either side
LIGHT To ensure consistent light as conditions change outside, the indoor lights will always be on when the roof is closed during the Championships
GRASS To allow plenty of natural light and rainwater to reach the turf, the roof will be left open outside Championship season
Graphic Michael Agar | Heidi Blake | Andrew Blenkinsop
1
2
OPEN ROOF
DEPLOYED TRUSS
Images Populous | Reuters
3
OPEN TRUSS
CLOSED ROOF
‹ AIRFLOW ›
8 litres of fresh air per person per second are pumped into the bowl via three sets of nozzles:
SET 1 Angled at the roof to prevent condensation developing and dripping on to the court
SET 2 Sends diffused air spiralling down over the spectators to reduce the humidity created by their wet clothing and breath
SET 3 Pumps air on to the grass to blow off any moisture which could cause players to slip
Sources Populous | AELTC
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THenry Winter keeps a keen eye on the football scene telegraph.co.uk/sport T
July 1 - 7, 2009
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Sport
Digest
MONDAY JUNE 22
Þ GOLF: GLOVER WINS RAIN-DELAYED USOPEN LUCAS GLOVER triumphed on the final day of the US Open at Farmingdale, New York. The 29-year-old American had never even finished in the top 10 of a major before but held off the challenge of Ricky Barnes and Phil Mickelson in a rain-delayed Monday finish.
Þ FOOTBALL: MANCHESTER CITY SIGN SANTA CRUZ PARAGUAY international Roque Santa Cruz finally left Blackburn Rovers for Mancheser City in a deal that could rise to £18million. Bayern Munich, who sold Santa Cruz to Blackburn for £3.8million two years ago, are now due to receive 20 per cent of the £17million fee because of the sell-on clause in his contract.
Þ SAILING: CAFFARI’S GIRLS SHOW BOYS HOW IT’S DONE DEE CAFFARI claimed another world title when she set a monohull record circumnavigating Britain and Ireland in her Open 60.
Caffari, racing with Vendee Globe rival Sam Davies, navigator Miranda Merron and boat captain Alex Sizer, crossed the line in Aviva, having covered about 1,800 nautical miles in 6 days 11hr 30min 53sec, taking more than 17 hours off a record that has stood for five years. It was also the best time for an allfemale crew.
TUESDAY JUNE 23
Þ FOOTBALL: HULL BENT ON SIGNINGMICHAEL OWEN HULL CITY manager Phil Brown confirmed that the club were keen to discuss terms with Michael Owen, “within the week”, in a bid to sign the Newcastle United forward on a free transfer.
Owen, 29, has admitted that he will leave Newcastle once his £110,000-a-week contract expires and Brown insisted that Hull were prepared to make the former England striker an attractive offer to move to Humberside.
Brown said: “I would think he would have a number of offers and we will have to be competitive. But I wouldn’t sit down with him if I thought I was wasting my time. Anything is possible in football.” Stoke also expressed an interest.
Þ RUGBY UNION: LONDON WELSH ON THE BRINK LONDON WELSH have entered administration after admitting they only have enough money to operate for one more month.
The National League One club, who turned fully professional only recently, need at least an extra £1million per season to continue their push to reach the Guinness Premiership. Without extra investment, they will have to revert to playing at local level.
Þ RUGBY LEAGUE:HOCK FACES LENGTHY BAN THE RUGBY Football League suspended Wigan and England forward Gareth Hock after he tested positive for the banned
Tough talking: Bernie Ecclestone (left) and Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo are kept apart by the FIA’s Max Mosley
double Olympic champion won in 8min 16.81sec, just 2.71 seconds outside the world record she set in Beijing. Fellow Briton Jo Jackson finished second in 8min 17.81 seconds.
SATURDAY JUNE 27
Þ RUGBY UNION: AUSTRALIA WIN SENDS TRI-NATIONSWARNING AUSTRALIA ISSUED a warning to their southern-hemisphere rivals ahead of the Tri-Nations series with a 22-6 victory over France in Sydney. Matt Giteau scored the only try of the night and kicked six out of six (five penalties and one conversion), while man of the match George Smith dominated at the breakdown. Novice lock Isaac Ross rescued New Zealand from a stuttering performance as they laboured to a 27-6 victory over Italy in Christchurch.
Þ EQUESTRIANISM: WHITAKER TAKESSECOND TO SPLIT BREEN BROTHERS JOE WHITAKER split the Breen brothers in the Bunn Leisure Speed Derby at Hickstead. Shane, the elder of the Irish brothers and the defending champion, finished third as Whitaker, 21, claimed second place, and Trevor Breen, ran home clear on Adventure De Kannan in 92.24 sec. Guy Williams won the six-horse jumpoff in the Falcon Equine Feeds Derby.
SUNDAY JUNE 28
Þ FOOTBALL: ‘STRATOSPHERIC’ BID FOR SAMUEL ETO’O IT WAS reported that Manchester City had submitted a “stratospheric” offer to sign Barcelona’s 28-year-old Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o, who was said to have verbally agreed to the move.
Þ FOOTBALL: BRAZIL CLAIM TITLE AFTER GREAT ESCAPE A LATE header from Lucio added to Luis Fabiano’s brace as Brazil fought back from two goals down to win the Confederations Cup final against the United States in Johannesburg .
Transfer talk: Manchester City completed the signing of Roque Santa Cruz (above left) and are said to be bidding for Samuel Eto’o
substance Benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. Hock, 25, was tested following Wigan’s home match against Salford earlier this month. He will face a hearing and, if found guilty, almost certainly a two-year ban.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 24
Þ RUGBY UNION: BAN FOR LIONS LOCK OVERTACKLE THE LIONS’ selection plans for the second Test in Pretoria were disrupted by news that Scotland lock Nathan Hines had been banned for one week after being cited for a dangerous tackle on Emerging Springboks second row forward Wilhelm Steenkamp in Tuesday’s 13-13 draw.
Þ TENNIS: PANEL TO PROBE CORRUPTION IN BRITISH SPORTS BETTING THE GOVERNMENT has established an expert panel to examine the threat of gamblingrelated corruption in British sport as fresh concerns about the probity of top-flight tennis emerged at Wimbledon. Reports of suspicious betting patterns surrounded the first-round match between Jurgen Melzer
and Wayne Odesnik. Betting exchange Betfair alerted the ITF’s Tennis Integrity Unit to unusually large volumes being wagered on Melzer winning in straight sets, and bookmakers Paddy Power and Ladbrokes suspended betting before the match began. Melzer went on to win in three sets and it emerged after the game that Odesnik had carried a muscle injury into the match.
THURSDAY JUNE 25
Þ FORMULA ONE: TEAMS FORCE MOSLEY OUT MAX MOSLEY was obliged to quit as president of the FIA, world motor racing’s governing body, as part of a dramatic trade-off to secure the future of Formula One. A series of meetings took place at Mosley’s Paris offices between Mosley, commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone and Ferrari president Luca
Cordero di Montezemolo, representing the Formula One Teams Association.
All eight rebel teams – Ferrari, Toyota, Renault, McLarenMercedes, BMW, Brawn GP, Red Bull and Toro Rosso – have pledged to enter the FIA world championship “indefinitely” in exchange for a commitment to reduce their spending to the levels of the early 1990s within two years. However, Mosley later changed tack and threatened to stand for re-election.
Þ CRICKET: AUSSIES REVENGE IN WOMEN’S ONEDAY INTERNATIONAL Australia (151-3) beat England (117-6 ) by 34 runs. ENGLAND appeared to be suffering from a World Twenty20 hangover, kept in check by tight bowling and fielding.Their hopes ended when Claire Taylor drove to long-off after a flurry of boundaries. Australia’s total was
built on an opening stand of 55 in five overs between Lisa Poulton and Shelley Nitschke.
FRIDAY JUNE 26
Þ FOOTBALL: ENGLAND THROUGH TO UNDER-21 EUROPEAN FINAL THE ENGLAND Under-21 team beat hosts Sweden 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out to set-up a European Championships final with Germany. Goalkeeper Joe Hart was the hero, saving one penalty before scoring another. The game ended 3-3 in normal time. Germany beat Italy 1-0 in their semi-final.
Þ SWIMMING: ADLINGTON CLOSE TO HER BEST REBECCA ADLINGTON sent a warning to her rivals by swimming the third-fastest 800 metres freestyle in history at the British Gas Scottish Championships in Glasgow. The
Þ GOLF: DOUGHERTY QUALIFIESFOR OPEN SPOT NICK DOUGHERTY was given a scare before he made the BMW International Open in Munich his third European Tour victory and qualification for the British Open at Turnberry. Four clear and seemingly coasting, the gap was cut to one when Argentina’s Rafa Echenique sank a 243-yard three-iron on the last for only the fourth albatross of the Tour season.
Þ RACING: FAME AND GLORY WINS IRISH DERBY AIDAN O’BRIEN was celebrated as the most successful trainer in the 143-year history of the Irish Derby when Fame And Glory, ridden by Johnny Murtagh, became his seventh winner of the Classic.
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