by Gloucestershire Echo

Engineers at Moog Controls Ltd, which provided the equipment that drives centre court's new retractable roof, were there when it was closed during a match for the first time this week.

Monday's women's singles game between Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo was the first to be played with the roof shut. Wet weather called for the structure, which is said to have cost ?100 million, to be brought into use.

Moog spokesman Steve Darnell said: "It's the talk of the town. We've got three people there managing the whole activity, making sure that everything works well."

He said it was quite something to watch Tennis being played under the roof, live on BBC television.

"It's absolutely brilliant. It's fantastic that it works so well. We're very pleased, very proud and thrilled that the roof has been used without any problems.," he said

Millions of viewers later saw Britain's big hope for the men's single title, Andy Murray, winning his match against Stanislas Wawrinka in a floodlit match under the roof on Monday night. The game, which went on to almost 11pm, was played at a later time than any in the competition's history.

Steve said: "We can't help but feel a great sense of pride. That late evening game could not have happened before."

Earlier in the championships, Moog's team had to act quickly when the roof's monitoring system detected a blockage that would have prevented the roof from closing.

It alerted them to the need for an engineer to go up and inspect the roof to resolve the problem. Steve said: "The system is so advanced that it's able to detect mechanical blockages. During one test, it was found that one such mechanical situation had occurred."

He said the roof could be closed in just 10 minutes, though getting the air conditioning right underneath meant play could not start for half-an-hour.

A team of 15 people at the Ashchurch Road firm spent three-and-a-half years designing and assembling the gear.

They put together 164 electric motors, drives and electrically-controlled pistons to enable the struc- ture to move.

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