Wimbledon runner-up Andy Murray claimed his hopes of defeating Roger Federer in the final were badly affected once the Centre Court roof was shut.
Murray was giving six-time champion Federer a tough time in Sunday's final when a torrential downpour sent the players scurrying for the locker room at one set all and 1-1 in the third set.
The Scot, who failed to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936, felt that was a crucial moment because indoor tennis, where no outside elements can affect his game, is Federer's favourite domain.
"Of course it changed it a bit," Murray said after his 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 defeat. "The way the court plays is a bit different. I think he served very well when the roof closed.
"He served better. I don't think he's lost an indoor match since 2010, so he plays well under the roof."
With his serve working well, Murray believes Federer was also able to take more chances when attacking the Scot's delivery.
"When we came out after the break he was more aggressive on my serve. I maybe didn't serve as well under the roof as I did the first couple of sets," Murray said.
"He has excellent timing, so when there's no wind or anything under the roof, he times the ball very, very well.
"He was able to go for his shots a bit more and felt a bit more secure probably."
Federer agreed that the rain delay was a significant turning point because, as well as removing the uncertain nature of dealing with the blustery conditions, it also allowed him time to regroup.
After Murray's impressive opening to the match, Federer decided to take the fight to his opponent more after the resumption and the switch paid off.
"Obviously there was a lot of wind involved in the first couple of sets. There was sort of a downwind which maybe makes you play more with the elements and less with tactics at times," Federer said.
"When the wind is gone you can get back into the tactics and what works and what doesn't work.
"I tried to play more aggressive and take it more to Andy. I think I was able to do that.
"I went to maybe fetch victory more than he did potentially. I'm happy that closing the roof helped me today, because I wasn't sure if that was going to help me or not."
