Wimbledon confident of Sunday finish

LONDON: Wimbledon officials insist they will complete their rain-hit schedule by Sunday as planned. With eight of the first nine days badly affected by rain, organisers have struggled to clear the backlog of matches.   

Adding to the problems has been a security clampdown after the failed bomb attacks in London and Glasgow, falling attendances as well as a lack of drama out on the courts.   

Tournament referee Andrew Jarrett said that the All England Club is confident of finishing on Sunday although the prospect of running into a third week has not been ruled out.   

"We are where we'd like to be in terms of the schedule," said Jarrett. "At the moment we can finish on Sunday and that is what we are planning to do - but obviously that can change.     

"We are obviously playing catch up as best we can and will press on given any sort of decent weather," Jarrett told the BBC.    

The heavy rain, which has made this year's championship the wettest since 1982, has led to a fall in attendance with a drop of almost 14,000 on last year.   

When play got underway on the Centre Court on Thursday, the stadium wasn't even half full despite the attraction of seeing three-time champion Venus Williams opening the day's action.