Halep’s finesse makes up for lost time under the roof

The All England Club cannot be held responsible for the weather. But it can be held to account for its approach to countering the effects of the prolonged biblical deluge that has afflicted this year’s Wimbledon. The club has, for a start, the most useful tool at its disposal for dealing with the inevitable backlog of postponed matches. Yet the Centre Court roof, the one weatherproof facility at its disposal, is barely used.

A whole morning under cover passed idle yesterday. The first match on Centre Court did not get under way until after lunch, after the grand, public introduction of the guests, including David Beckham, in the Royal Box. .

So it was that Simona Halep and Kiki Bertens were obliged to wait until 1.30pm before they could begin their third-round tie, which had been held over from the previous evening by the gathering tailback. By which time the covers on the outside courts had been on and off with the frequency of a Boris In control: Simona Halep proved that muscle is not always best in her victory against Kiki Bertens Johnson election campaign. When the action finally got under way, this was the battle of the semi-finalists. The Romanian Halep reached the semi at Wimbledon two years ago, losing to Eugenie Bouchard. While the Dutchwoman Bertens, who has won more matches than anyone else on tour this season, made it to the last four at Roland Garros last month, succumbing to Serena Williams.

While Bertens, wide-shouldered and powerful, thwacked the ball with considerable heft, Halep, slim, slight, quick on her feet, is a mistress of the court geometry, spinning the ball at angles almost impossible to predict, let alone counter. After the pair had carelessly swapped service breaks, Halep took control of the first set, winning 6-4 in 40 minutes. In the second set, the speed and angle of her forehands pushed Bertens further and further back, until she was standing way beyond the baseline, watching her opponent take a 5-2 lead. The Dutchwoman broke back but it merely spurred on Halep, who, after sealing it 6-3, said: “I played well,” she said. “And also the roof was good for me today.”

If only she had been able to play under it a little earlier, we might not be facing a delay long enough to make Southern Railway blush.