Wimbledon's scheduling controversy has left referee Andrew Jarrett "uniquely exposed" over the refusal to switch matches to the All England Club's only rain-protected court. Play ended at 7:55pm GMT Monday when rain fell at Wimbledon. Instead of moving Andy Murray's match to Centre Court, which has a roof, play was suspended. The "sole responsibility for the controversial scheduling rests with Jarrett," the tournament referee. There has traditionally been "an order of play committee," but that has been dissolved since Jarrett took over the referee’s chair in '06. Jarrett is said to "take advice" from the team of Grand Slam supervisors, the Association of Tennis Professionals, the Women’s Tennis Association, the Met Office -- who have a meteorologist and satellite station in the referee’s office -- and the BBC producers "before coming to a scheduling decision" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/3).
MOBBED: Women's player Serena Williams questioned "the standards of the All England Club's security" Monday when she claimed she was “mobbed” after her fourth-round victory over Yaroslava Shvedova. Williams said, “I was totally mobbed. Literally, I thought I was going to fall down after the match. I guess that comes with the territory. It was crazy out there.” Asked whether Wimbledon officials ought to address security concerns in their match scheduling, she replied, “Yeah, I think they should take that into account" (TELEGRAPH, 7/2).
