Andy Murray Clash With Marin Cilic Threatened By Rain At Wimbledon

Persistent Rain Forecast At Wimbledon

Wimbledon-goers faced a damp day today as grey skies and rain hit SW19.

The courts were covered at the All England Club at the start of the day, not boding well for the day's play.

Andy Murray fans could see delays to the British number one's match against Marin Cilic, which is billed for court number one - without the option of a roof like centre court.

Several games have been played with the roof over on centre court, which will today see Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic play their games.

Billy Payne, forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said fans could see plenty of delays and interruptions to today's play.

"We've got rain moving in from the west through the day," he said.

"It's just got into the London area now and the next couple of hours there's outbreaks of rain coming up from the west and south-west."

He said most of the rain would be light and drizzly, adding: "This light and patchy rain could cause some disruption."

And the wet weather could continue throughout the week, in contrast with last week's fairly bright weather. Last Thursday spectators enjoyed soaring temperatures of up to 28C at the All England Club.

"It's quite an unsettled week. There will be more outbreaks tomorrow and outbreaks which will continue for much of the day really."

Murray will be aiming to repeat his Saturday night victory at Wimbledon, after making history with the latest finish the tournament has ever seen.

Fans feared the match against Marcos Baghdatis would have to be finished today, but the Scot powered through to victory just after 11pm.

Cilic beat the clock himself with a five-set win over Sam Querrey which went to 17-15 in the decider.

The Croatian is on an eight-match winning streak on grass after benefiting from David Nalbandian's moment of madness in the Aegon Championships final at Queen's Club.

Cilic also ousted Murray in the fourth round of the US Open in 2009, but Murray got his own back the following year when he beat him to reach his first Australian Open final.

The 25-year-old has said he needs to learn from the things he did not do so well on Saturday.

"If I play like I did the first couple of sets against Baghdatis, winning the tournament is going to be tough," he wrote on his BBC blog.

"I need to learn from the things I didn't do so well and what turned it around for me."

Saying "Roll on Monday", he also paid tribute to support from the crowd, including his mother, Judy Murray, Great Britain's Fed Cup captain.

She admitted that today's match would be a challenge, telling BBC Breakfast: "I think it's dangerous to look too far ahead and I'm sure no-one, especially Andy, is looking beyond this match.

"Cilic is 6ft 5in, 6ft 6in - it's a bit of a big ask. He serves big and he likes to play on grass.

"It will be a tough task for Andy today and he'll have to be at his best."

Asked if her son would win, she replied with a smile: "Who knows?"

Today saw the return of Rufus the Hawk to Wimbledon. The American Harris Hawk, who patrols the All England Club, was found after being stolen on Thursday night.

His owner, Imogen Davis, 25, said: "We are ecstatic and so, so overwhelmed with all the lovely messages and help we have received."

Fans clutching umbrellas gave a mixed reaction to the weather today.

Sue Callaghan, who has been coming to Wimbledon for 39 years, said it was typical that the bad weather had hit on the day Murray is due to play on Court One.

"He can't go on there today weather-wise. It would be this on the day it's going to be bad. I'm gutted it's on Court One," she said.

Stuart Chalmers, 59, and his wife Isabel Chalmers, 58, from Fife, travelled to Wimbledon to see the tennis today and tomorrow.

They had tickets for Court Two today but have tickets for Court One tomorrow, and said the rain could play into their hands if Murray's game is delayed.

"This isn't too bad - after all, we're Scottish," Mr Chalmers said.

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