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British crowds show great patience waiting to see their favourite players in action © Getty Images

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"This is ridiculous," said Novak Djokovic following his third-round defeat to Xavier Malisse at Queen's last week. "Conditions today are impossible to be able to play... you could feel the little sprinkles, feel the rain and the court was extremely slippery - a couple of times I had chances to injure myself."

Well Novak, welcome to England. It wouldn't be the British summer time without a few showers to keep us on our toes. But on a bizarre day's play at the AEGON Championships on Thursday, Djokovic followed fellow seeds Andy Roddick and Marin Cilic out of the draw. Defending champion Andy Murray was not far behind them; and world No. 1 Rafael Nadal survived just one more round.

Anyone who had bought tickets for Centre Court on Saturday expecting to see the top names were instead treated to a slightly less conventional semi-final line-up involving Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, Rainer Schuettler and Feliciano Lopez, who between them had a combined ranking of 224.

With the grass courts the most sensitive surface to the weather, and even the finest drizzle making the court slippery, the day's activities can be subject to multiple delays. And even if play should be allowed to continue, the damp weather slows both the ball and the court down, favouring some players more than others.

But for Djokovic it was as much a psychological battle as it was physical. "It was more tough mentally than anything else," he said after struggling against both the conditions and his Belgian opponent.

Meanwhile Nadal, whose third round match against Denis Istomin was interrupted by rain, insisted he had no problem relaxing in the players' lounge waiting for play to resume, passing the time discussing the World Cup with Andy Murray. But the world No. 1, who was forced to practice in the rain following his arrival in West London last week, admitted the conditions were proving difficult to adapt to.

"It was difficult to play, the stop for the rain, lot of cold, wind," he said. "That's not the best conditions for the body because it is a big change for me, and big change to play for two months on clay and now on grass."

Rain delays are part and parcel of a players' job, and the ability to deal with them can signal the difference between a good player and a champion. The uncertainty of not knowing how long you will be off court for; and whether the match will even resume that day - it is a delicate balance of remaining relaxed yet focused.

The volatile British weather threatens to disrupt the tennis schedule every year © Getty Images

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A player renowned for his on-court patience, Murray's game could be well suited to dealing with such interruptions. He required every ounce of patience as he successfully made it through his second-round match against Juan Ignacio Chela at the French Open in the face of two rain delays and an overnight adjournment.

At Queen's two years ago, Murray was a victim of the slippery court when he sprained his thumb in his third-round win against Ernests Gulbis. Fears he would not be fit in time for Wimbledon were raised after he withdrew from his quarter-final against Roddick, but Murray recovered to reach the quarter-finals where he lost to eventual champion Nadal, in a match that faced lengthy delays due to the inclement British weather.

With Murray likely to be playing the lion's share of his matches, if not all of them, on Centre Court with the new retractable roof at hand, the rain showers are unlikely to affect him significantly. And for a player who originally hails from Dunblane, the Scot should have a natural advantage dealing with the lower temperatures.

It's called home advantage for a reason. The partisan crowd in Centre Court and on Murray Mount helped him reach the semi-finals last year, but the conditions should also contribute to the success of a player at his home tournament. Let Djokovic moan about the weather; let Nadal worry about the cold; Murray should be relishing a less-than-glorious weather forecast for the forthcoming fortnight.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.