It’s a whole new world for Wimbledon now, after the crossing of the roof rubicon. Midnight feasts of strawberries and cream, a spot of nightclubbing after a five-setter. Perhaps even pick up the morning papers.

It was confirmed yesterday that there will be no time limit on matches now that the roof has had its baptism. “It could go on all night,” a Wimbledon spokesman said. “There’s no limit or cut-off. We will play to the finish — whatever time that may be.”

Ian Ritchie, chief executive of the All England Club, said: “The mantra is that it’s an outdoor summer event, and we’ve been blessed with sunshine, but if the circumstances dictate, that’s what [the roof] is there for.”

Nearly 20,000 fans, including 4,000 on the hill outside Centre Court, stayed to the triumphant end of Andy Murray’s five-set victory on Monday night, which finished at 10.38pm.

Wimbledon officials confirmed that they would consider bringing in floodlights next year for spectators outside the court.

Late-night tennis will not cause problems with the local council either. David Simpson, Merton Council’s environment chief, said that it had placed no restrictions on the All England Club and had granted extended licences to the pubs in Wimbledon Village. He added: “The tennis fans are a responsible and well-behaved crowd and do not normally cause us concern.”

It is also likely to benefit the All England Club’s coffers. The estimated £25 million-a-year television income would increase by as much as a quarter if the matches were regularly allowed to run later, according to industry figures.

BBC One achieved a 12.6 million peak audience for the closing moments of the match on Monday.

Late matches would also increase Wimbledon’s value in the United States, where the tournament is broadcast by NBC. Matches running until midnight in London would finish at 7pm on the East Coast, right at the beginning of prime time in the world’s biggest television market.

Kevin Alavy, of the specialist sports media consultacy known as futures sport + entertainment, said that midnight finishes were already a feature of the Australian Open, where the time difference helped to attract the European television market.