Tennis history was made on Monday as players at Wimbledon served and volleyed until almost 11pm.

Wimbledon’s new retractable roof over Centre Court was put into action after predictions of heavy showers - leading to the tournament’s first ever late night finish.

Andy Murray and his opponent Stanislas Wawrinka were the first players to tackle a whole competitive match under the new roof, producing a nailbiting encounter which the British star eventually won at 10.40pm.

Wimbledon’s first late night finish meant thousands of fans spilled out from the court, and off Henman Hill, hours later than normal, putting pressure on stations and buses and stretching the resources of police supervising the event.

But Superintendent Pete Dobson said his team had handled the demands of the late night finish and no offences were committed after the sun went down - adding that overall crime at the tournament had fallen by 50 per cent compared to last year.

On Tuesday he said: "To date, the tennis Championships have been another fantastic sporting event.

“Following last night's late finish I do have some tired staff here today who diligently worked a 14 hour shift which will be reviewed in the future if required.”

He added that for the future, better lighting could be provided outside the grounds and said while 20,000 people leaving the grounds so late in the day did put the transport networks under pressure, overall the system coped well.

Johnny Perkins, a spokesman for the All England Club, said there were no plans to hold regular late night sessions during the tournament but this week's one-off match had been a "fantastic" and problem free event.

He said: "Everyone here, and everyone watching on television, felt like they were part of something a bit special."