Storm clouds gathering as delays affect play

THE stiff upper lip is always maintained, but it was easy to tell that things had reached crisis point here yesterday.

There were signs. First up, there was Radio Wimbledon, a station devoted entirely to chat about the championships whose slogan is "all tennis, all of the time". Cheerily the station braved the first few days of rain, but now they have finally cracked... and bought themselves a record player.

Then there was the sight of players desperately trying to keep themselves occupied amid the rain soaked crowds. There had apparently been a major outbreak of poker and some very well known shirts had been lost. Finally there were the spectators. Wet, bored and turning ugly well, as ugly as your average middle aged, middle class, sandwich carrying rabble is ever likely to get. There may be letters to The Telegraph.

Even here, amongst the foreign hacks, things were getting edgy. Apart from the fact that there were doubts about how long our third Hpor, smoke filled hang out was going to remain above water level, our hopes had been cruelly raised by the first four sets of an evenly balanced and highly attractive semi-final contest between Maliyai Washington and Todd Martin.

An intriguing tactical battle between players with differing styles which swung one way and then the other, it seemed that we finally had something to get stuck into. Just when it was coming time to make your way to the edge of your seat, however, the clouds gathered overhead and the man with the nicely rounded vowels was back again, apologising for another delay and thanking us for our patience.

Apart from the threat that a lot more rain today, which happens to be precisely what is forecast, could have the effect of pushing the men's singles final back to Monday, the postponement of the fifth set between these two Americans was a great pity because of the influence it may come to have upon the outcome.

Washington, who twice came from a set down yesterday has a very poor record in five set matches while the 13th seed's track record on these occasions is much better. So just as it had in Steffi Graf's case, the rain may help to determine the line up in the final.

That this would be such a tightly fought battle could hardly have been guessed from the run & the opening set.

Martin, a break up from the second game, did lose the advantage when he surrendered four points in the eighth game without requiring his opponent to play a winner, but the 6ft 6in former world number five looked, for a short time, to be on the way to a repeat of his straight sets defeat of- Washington at the 1994 Australian Open.

His Davis Cup team mate it transpired, however, was made of sterner stuff than that, and as he gradually struck a balance between his own inclination to battle it out from the back of the court and his obvious awareness that this might not be for the best, he began to make some inwards.

A break in the fifth game of the second set decided it in Washington's favour, despite the 27 year old having to take a couple of pills to help with the pain from a back injury he received in his fourth round match. The problem, though, hardly seemed to affect the American's tremendous speed and agility around the court.

Martin, meanwhile, showed a great determination to dictate the match, from the net, even when receiving, and his generally fine volleying and occasionally brilliant top spin lobs helped him to the third set in a tie break.

Once again, however, a briefs lapse in concentration was to cost him the set, although this time, when the break came in the sixth game, it was well earned by his opponent who moved from a third deuce to advantage thanks to a wonderful forehand cross court return and took the game with a backhand volley at the net. Things were hotting up.

Well they weren't, in fact, because after Washington held service to IS in game nine to leave it all square again, the return of the rain ensured that they would be back out on court at 11.00 am. today.