Wimbledon Counts Cost Of Washout

The All England Club was left to foot the bill after persistent rain meant only 44 minutes of play were possible on the opening day at Wimbledon.

The Club offers full refunds if less than one hour's play is possible and that is likely to cost it somewhere in the region of £1 million.

Wimbledon dropped its insurance policy two years ago because of high premiums.

Showers are also predicted for Tuesday in SW19, but conditions should improve during the rest of the week.

Overnight rain and morning showers meant the start of play was delayed by an hour and when the players did get on court it was not long before the covers came back on.

Players and fans then had to endure a waiting game before play was finally abandoned for the day at 1920 BST.

Reigning champion Roger Federer was one of the few who did get out on court and he had enough time to take the first set 6-3 against Richard Gasquet.

Tim Henman was not so lucky and he was forced to hang around for most of the day before his match with Robin Soderling, which was due second on Court One, was finally postponed.

Former champion Martina Hingis also made it out on to court on her return to Wimbledon - taking the first set off Olga Savchuk 6-2 in the first match on Court Two.

The former world number one won Wimbledon in 1997 but retired from the game in 2002.

It was one of only 17 of the day's 64 scheduled matches that saw any play at all.