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Murray, Nadal and Federer unfazed by rising Wimbledon temperature

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

A heat rule for men at Wimbledon will still be a long time in coming if the views of the top players are anything to go by.

The mercury rose to 41 degrees centigrade on Centre Court on Tuesday and Andy Murray admitted to struggling with the temperature in his first-round win - as well as Mikhail Kukushkin's low forehand shots.

But the shorter rallies on grass gave him some respite and, like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, insisted he could handle what amounts to a British heatwave.

"I haven't played loads of matches on that court when it has been as warm as that," said Murray, who faces Robin Haase in round two. "I don't remember playing so many matches at Wimbledon where it was into the 30s.

"It was very hot. I was glad to get off in three sets, a couple of hours, because ideally you don't want to be playing extremely long matches in those conditions because it's tough."

The WTA has a year-round system that allows for a 10-minute break between second and third sets when the heat stress index - factoring air temperature, humidity and surface temperature - rises above 30.1ºC.

It has only been implemented at The Championships twice before, in July 2006 and June 2009. At the Australian Open they stop all play if it gets too hot but there is not a specific heat rule on the men's tour.

Asked whether there should be, Murray said: "I don't really want to get into that. Because the points are much quicker [at Wimbledon], you don't feel it as much.

"In Melbourne, for example, you can't sort of just get three or four cheap points straightaway on your serve. Normally you have to play more rallies. Whereas here it's harder to return and easier to serve. There are not loads of 20, 25 stroke rallies, which really takes it out of you when it's hot."

Federer and Nadal were even more dismissive than the world No.3. They were, perhaps, even a little surprised by the British attitude - excluding Murray's - towards the rising temperatures after it became a major talking point at the All England Club.

Nadal found it "difficult to think about a better day to play tennis at Wimbledon" and Federer, cool as ever, looked like the heat wouldn't even make him break sweat.

"In Australia, we've had some moments. But here, in Europe, seriously, on clay, grass, problems never come," Federer said. "[When] we have concrete underneath, on the side of you, the sun beating down, it gets rough.

"That's why the Australian Open has almost done the rule, I want to say more for the fans I feel like almost, and the officials and the ballboys and the linesmen and spectators rather than us.

"We can play through these kind of conditions because we're used to it."