The newest roof in Wimbledon

Well well well. Having spent the past seven day gathering cobwebs on it pristine white surface, the much-heralded Wimbledon roof made its 'debut' at the All England Club yesterday. And what an entrance.

Because a stadium is defined by the occasions it hosts, not the structure or architecture of the building it takes place in.

Wembley's twin towers, as much of a spectacle as they were, only became iconic because hundreds of thousands of fans linked them to memorable FA Cup final days out, or even that great day in the summer of '66.

The proof of this is most harshly illustrated in the failures. Bold new football stadia such at Pride Park, the Reebok Stadium and the Stadium of Light (Sunderland, not Benfica) are hardly iconic sporting venues because - by and large - they host mediocrity.

Arsenal's Emirates Stadium is just beautiful. But so far it has only been associated with chronic under-achievement and a slightly deluded Frenchman interested more in education than sport.

And so we come to Centre Court. It's baptism was transformed from a gentle splash by a fumbling vicar (excuse the water puns) into a full-immersion spectacular by the Murray-Wawrinka match.

The court in its covered form will take time to establish its full character. A hopelessly wet fortnight would be interesting, with all the key games played indoors.

But if the roof carries on hosting five-set epics (and British victories) I, for one, am certain to become quite fond of it.