Ivanisevic delivers brutal Tsitsipas backhand
Stefanos Tsitsipas was given a scathing review for his lack of effort by his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, after he withdrew from his first round match. The Greek is part of the 90s-born era of men’s players who have underperformed, sandwiched between the Big Three and Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Tsitsipas dropped out of the top 20 for the first time since 2018 last month.
“If he solves some things outside of tennis, then he has a chance and he’ll return to where he belongs,” said Ivanisevic, who has been the player’s coach since May. “He’s too good a player to be out of the top 10.
“He wants, but he doesn’t do anything. All the ‘I want, I want’, but I don’t see that progress. I was shocked, I have never seen a more unprepared player in my life. With this knee, I am three times more fit than him. This is really bad.”
Train delays cause headaches
Transport for London’s services have come under criticism, with large numbers of fans unable to get to the grounds. The delays on the District line began on Monday and a fire on the track at Southfields station – the closest to the All England Club – and signal failures at Wimbledon and Gunnersbury stations caused overcrowded platforms. The disruption has lasted since, with trains from as far as Whitechapel left at a standstill. On Friday morning, the Wimbledon website said: “The Queue is now at capacity and we are not issuing any more Queue cards.” Announcements at Earl’s Court station told people not to travel to queue from as early as 8am.
A TfL spokesperson said: “We apologise to customers affected by disruption on the District line. Our engineers have been working hard alongside our partners Network Rail to rectify any faults as soon as possible and restore a good service. Customers are advised to allow extra time for their journeys and to check before they travel using TfL Journey Planner or the TfL Go app.”
All-white dress code relaxed for Jota tribute
Francisco Cabral sported a black ribbon on his sleeve to commemorate Diogo Jota, the Liverpool and Portugal footballer who died at the age of 28 in a car accident on Thursday. The men’s doubles player said it was an honour to wear the symbol for his compatriot.
“Yesterday the idea of wearing a black strap came up. That was not allowed,” he said. “I asked for permission to use the black ribbon and they let me play with it.
“He was an inspiration not only for me but for [Portugal] in general.”
The All England Club said: “We are always open to having conversations with players regarding such matters, and given the tragic circumstances, the referee’s office has approved the players wearing a black ribbon as a mark of respect and condolence.”
The British doubles player Neal Skupski, who was born in Liverpool and is a supporter of the club, also wanted to wear a black ribbon, but chose not to after learning of the death of his grandmother. Skupski said he may wear one later in the tournament.
