Andy Murray will have to wait before he can resume his second-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon on Friday.
Murray fought back from a set down to take a 2-1 lead on Centre Court on Thursday night before Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew halted proceedings. The Scot led the Greek No5 seed 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, but the chair umpire called time at 10.40pm, prompting boos from the home crowd.
He has already played for two hours and 54 minutes and now just needs to win a further set to complete a remarkable win. But Murray won’t be permitted to get straight back at it on Friday morning – instead he will have to sit and wait.
Play won’t get underway on Centre Court until 1.30pm on Friday and it won’t be Murray and Tsitsipas taking to the court first up. No1 seed Carlos Alcaraz will take on France’s Alexandre Muller in the first match on Wimbledon’s biggest court.
Murray’s match is the second scheduled for Centre Court. It is listed not to start until before 3pm, but the actual start time will depend upon how quickly Alcaraz and Muller’s match takes.
Alcaraz beat Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in straight sets in the first round and will be confident of repeating the trick again. Muller is ranked 84 in the world and came through in four sets against compatriot Arthur Rinderknech in the first round.
There were concerns that Murray might be hindered by injury after he slipped on the baseline during the penultimate point of the third set, with the score at 5-4, 40-15 on his serve. The 36-year-old screamed in pain after hitting the floor, but he managed to recover and clinch the set.
Murray will hope he can continue where he left off against Tsitsipas and rattle off a third straight set to progress to the third round. But, should the match go the distance, he will be able to draw upon plenty of experience of marathon matches.
Murray recorded the latest Wimbledon win at 11.02pm against Marcos Baghdatis in 2012. He also beat Thanasi Kokkinakis at 4.05am in the second round at the Australian Open in January after the match didn’t start until 10.20pm.
The winner will play Serbia’s Laslo Djere in the next round. Clay court specialist Djere, who is ranked 60th in the world, recovered from a set down to defeat Ben Shelton of the United States 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.
Once Alcaraz and Murray’s matches are concluded it will be world No1 Iga Swiatek vs Petra Martic on Centre Court before the meeting between Stan Wawrinka and tournament favourite Novak Djokovic.
