Novak Djokovic enters the quarter-finals of Wimbledon frustrated by the decision that means the No2 seed will play on consecutive days, the only men’s competitor to have to do so.
Rafael Nadal’s epic fourth-round tie with Gilles Müller on Monday night meant the referees chose not to begin Djokovic’s match with Adrian Mannarino until Tuesday. Djokovic won in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 but believes it should have been played under the lights of Centre Court. The condition of the show courts came under criticism too as the three-times Wimbledon champion vented his discontent.
“I just think it was a wrong decision not to play us last night, because we could have played,” Djokovic said. “I think the last match on Centre Court was done before 7pm. Having in mind that Centre Court has the roof and lights, we could have played until 11pm.
“I was not happy not to play last night. I wanted to play. I thought we could have played. We were kept for two and a half hours in the dark, in a way, without knowing what we are going to do. So you were on your toes warming up, cooling down. The referee’s office was completely indecisive. It was frustrating, I must admit.”
Djokovic went on to observe he had been forced to draw the umpire’s attention to a hole in the Centre Court turf, becoming the latest player to criticise the standard of the Wimbledon surfaces.
“The chair umpire at the end of the match asked me about the hole, because midway through the match I mentioned there is a hole. He wanted me to show him, so I showed him. His reaction wasn’t that great,” he said.
“The fact is that the court is not in a great condition but you have to deal with it. I don’t think much can be done. As I said, that’s not in my area of understanding and competence.”
An unremarkable scoreline was deceptive, because Djokovic was made to work by Mannarino, who is ranked No51 in the world. Djokovic broke him twice in an entertaining first set that lasted 37 minutes thanks to the left-handed Frenchman’s durability in the rally. Djokovic went three love up in eight minutes but Mannarino grew into the set, taking Djokovic to deuce on two of his service games. Ultimately the Serb closed the set out with a second break.
Djokovic again broke Mannarino at the first time of asking in the second set but he dusted himself down once more and began to dominate the rallies, unleashing a series of expertly measured shots off his forehand. Djokovic began to stutter, playing several uncharacteristically loose shots, especially on his backhand.
Then, at 2-4 down, Mannarino forced a break with a sustained passage of controlled aggression. A tie-break was the outcome and both players wanted it, with each of the first five points resulting in a mini-break. Gradually, after a period of uncertainty that had lasted half an hour, Djokovic reasserted himself and won out 7-5.
Djokovic’s frustration boiled over at the beginning of the third set when he thwacked a ball into the ground after dropping a point on his serve. In a tournament of small margins for the top competitors every minute on court counts.
The third set was the easiest and Djokovic will face the No11 seed Tomas Berdych in his second match in two days.
“I’ve done it in straight sets, that’s all that matters”, Djokovic said. “So I try to just be in this moment and look forward to the next challenge.”
