Wimbledon weather to serve up a sunny Saturday
As defending champion Rafael Nadal opens the 125th Wimbledon tennis championship, the Met Office tells Channel 4 News what weather to expect over the coming fortnight.
Forecasters predicted a mixed start to the tournament, with a sunny morning on day one giving way to rain in the afternoon.
The showers could see delays to Nadal’s first match, against American Michael Russell, though may do little to dampen his spirits. The Spaniard said on Sunday: “I love to play big matches. I love to play in big stadiums like here, historic stadiums like Wimbledon. So for me, when I start playing my first match of the tournament in the Centre Court that is a dream”.
The All England Club has said it will be keeping the Centre Court roof well-oiled on the advice of the weather men.
George Goodfellow, Met Office forecaster, told Channel 4 News that players and spectators can expect an unsettled week.
While south east England looks set to enjoy more sunshine than the rest of the country, Mr Goodfellow said there is a chance of showers for much of the week.
“It’s not looking like significant rain, there will be decent sunny periods and reasonably good days of play – but there could be delays,” he said.
The courts in SW19 could fall foul to a wetter afternoon on Thursday however, with showers also due on Friday.
Saturday looks like it will have the most sunshine and by the end of the week. George Goodfellow, Met Office
The weekend will bring some respite from the mixed weather, with Saturday shaping up to be the best day of the week.
“Saturday looks like it will have the most sunshine and by the end of the week, temperatures should be in the high teens, nudging into the low 20s”, Mr Goodfellow said.
Meanwhile, the All England Club said the tournament has been impeccably arranged “with the capricious exception of the weather”.
Mr Goodfellow said the longer term forecast for Wimbledon at this stage is for another week of unsettled weather.
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The Centre Court’s retractable roof was unveiled in 2009 but has been largely unused so far.
In previous years, however, bad weather has interrupted the state of play to such an extent that the tournament has gone into a fourth week.
Usually the 662 matches are played out over a fortnight. The men’s final is scheduled this year for Sunday 3 July.