Murray works late and wants still more

Wimbledon was transformed for good as Andy Murray played into the night under the bright lights of Tennis's newest indoor-outdoor facility. But Wimbledon was not far from mourning, either, as Murray dropped the first set in a hurry against Stanislas Wawrinka and was eventually pushed (hard) into a fifth by Roger Federer's talented Swiss sidekick with the potent one-handed backhand. ''I believe I can win Wimbledon ; that's not changed since the first match,'' said Murray, the No. 3 seed, who has a chance to break Britain's 73-year streak without a men's singles champion here. ''But like I said, I'm going to have to play great Tennis to do it. Had to play some great Tennis tonight.'' It came in flurries Monday, and it came to the audible delight of the nearly 15,000 fans who stayed historically late in Centre Court with their groans and roars reverberating off the roof that was closed from start to finish, despite clear weather outside. Thousands more fans were packed together inside the All England Club on the grassy knoll known as ''Henman Hill'' to watch on a big-screen television. Usually a picnic zone, it felt more like an outdoor cinema as night fell over Wimbledon with the luminous roof providing a futuristic backdrop. Murray eventually gave the fans what they were waiting for at 10:39 p.m., with a forehand winner that closed a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory that had required nearly four hours of his and his growing fan club's time. ''That was probably the noisiest crowd I played in front of,'' Murray said. ''It definitely sounds and feels louder with the roof.'' It was, quite logically, the latest finish at Wimbledon: 50 minutes later in the evening than Wawrinka's loss to Mario Ancic in the gloaming here in 2006. And thanks to the roof, the men's quarterfinal lineup for Wednesday is now complete. In the top half of the draw, Murray will face unseeded Spanish veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero, formerly ranked No. 1; and No. 6 seed Andy Roddick of the United States will face unseeded Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt, also formerly ranked No. 1. In the bottom half, No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia will face Tommy Haas, a 31-year-old from Germany; and No. 2 seed Roger Federer of Switzerland will play 30-year-old Ivo Karlovic of Croatia. Experience is paying dividends this year. Federer, still on track for a record 15th Grand Slam singles title, beat Robin Soderling of Sweden, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5). It was a rematch of their surprise French Open final, which Federer won in straight sets earlier this month. But this was a more competitive match, featuring just one break of serve, as Federer beat the tall, big-serving Swede for the 11th time in 11 matches. ''Thanks for reminding me,'' Soderling said. Federer will now face the taller, bigger-serving Karlovic, who at 6-foot-10, or 2.08 meters, is the tallest man ever to play at Wimbledon, He continued his intimidating run by beating Fernando Verdasco of Spain 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) as Karlovic never faced a break point and served 35 aces. ''I like those sort of challenges, you know,'' Federer said. ''I mean, it's maybe not the most fun match to go through. But I like to beat this guy, because he makes it hard on us to beat him.'' Federer is 8-1 against Karlovic. Hewitt leads Roddick 6-5, but the resurgent, newly married American has won their last four matches, most recently in the round-of-16 at Queen's Club on grass this year. Roddick was particularly sharp on Monday, defusing the considerable danger posed by Tomas Berdych, the erratic Czech power baseliner, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-3. The 56th-ranked Hewitt is on the upswing himself here and shrugged off a leg strain and a two-set deficit to defeat Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. ''It doesn't get any easier from here,'' Roddick said. ''I have loads of respect for Lleyton, what he's been able to accomplish. You know, everyone knows he's certainly capable of playing very, very, very well on this surface.'' ** CAPTION: Andy Murray serving under the new roof and the new lights on Centre Court as he beat Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets in the latest match in Wimbledon's long history. Photo Credit: Toby Melville/Reuters