Authorities cautious on Wimbledon roof option

The All England Club chairman, Tim Phillips, said yesterday that proposals are being considered for a roof on Wimbledon's Centre Court, but stressed that no project was under way. "We are looking, but plenty of years' worth of speculation are left in the story," he said.

Phillips was responding to a report that the American architects HOK Sport, who designed Sydney's Olympic Stadium and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, had suggested a transparent, plastic retracting roof, costing £15m to £20m, similar to the one they designed for the Reliant Stadium, home to Houston Texans American football team.

"HOK have worked on the clubhouse at Wimbledon and have been around the Centre Court," Phillips said. "We are looking at options for a roof, and plenty of people are experimenting, but we have not found a proposal that suits us."

The 60th Italian Championships hold the prospect of frustrated toil for the British No 1, Tim Henman, who has teamed up in the doubles with Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, the three-times French Open champion, in the hope of gaining much needed match practice on clay.

In the first round of the singles today, unseeded Henman, who has won only two of his seven matches in a season disrupted by shoulder problems, is due to play the 15th seed, Guillermo Coria, of Argentina.

Should Henman overcome Coria, he may face Mikhail Youzhny, Russia's Davis Cup final hero, in the second round, with a possible third-round match with Andre Agassi.

Agassi, 33, needs to make a successful title defence to stay ahead of Australia's Lleyton Hewitt as world No 1. Hewitt is not playing in Rome.

The British No 2, Greg Rusedski, out of action since last August's United States Open, has recovered from foot and knee surgery, but has not been entered for the tournament.