WIMBLEDON REPORT : They May Not Be Able to Afford a Sunday Off

Has it rained on Wimbledon’s parade?

This year’s constant downpour has brought Wimbledon officials to the brink of a difficult decision: Will they part from tradition and play matches on the middle Sunday of the fortnight?

They have been able to complete only 52 of the scheduled 223 matches, and even cutting back men’s doubles to best-of-three sets and playing matches earlier each day may not be enough to get this tournament finished by July 7, as scheduled.

So, the sacred middle Sunday may fall, and that is no easy matter for Wimbledon officials, who need to get permission from many people, including local government officials, to stray from tradition.

The decision will be made today.

Delay of game? Another schedule issue here is not directly related to the weather.

There is growing sentiment in favor of moving Wimbledon back a week, giving the players another seven days of respite after the physically demanding French Open.

“To have another week between the French and Wimbledon, yes, definitely, that would be a good move,” said Stefan Edberg, the No. 1-seeded men’s player here. “Most of the players I have spoken to are behind that.”

Wimbledon officials have indicated that they will listen closely to the players’ wishes on this.

The endurance test: Edberg, who as the defending champion was scheduled to play in the first match on Centre Court Monday, finally finished his first-round match Thursday, beating Marc Rosset of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. With all the rain delays, Edberg’s match had taken 3 days 44 minutes.

Non-endurance test: Pete Sampras, the object of much affection by swooning teen-age girls here, showed as many exceptional moves after his match as during it.

From the time he hit his match-point shot, a forehand volley, until he ducked into the players’ locker room, perhaps 60 yards away, 27 seconds had elapsed. And he signed two autographs en route, despite attempts by his two bodyguards to keep his admirers at bay.

Monica Seles rumor update: Rumor No. 1: She knew all along that she was going to back out of Wimbledon and even canceled the cottage that she had rented near here 10 days before telling Wimbledon officials she would be elsewhere. Rumor No. 2: She’s pregnant.

Both have been published, one in a newspaper that runs pictures of nude women on its Page 3.

Guess which rumor that paper printed.