Three-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has criticised Wimbledon organisers for pulling his crucial fourth-round match, which some believe served up advantage to fellow quarter-finalists Andy Murray and Roger Federer.
The 30-year-old was kept in the dark, “warming up, cooling down”, he said, as officials dithered when Rafael Nadal’s epic four-hour and 48 minutes battle on Monday meant time ran out on Court 1 for the Serbian’s match against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.
By the time Nadal lost 13-15 in a thrilling fifth set to Luxembourg’s Gilles Müller, the light was fading.
But rather than switch his match to Centre Court, which was free and where the roof and lights meant play could continue until 11pm, officials postponed it until Tuesday, when Djokovic eventually cruised through to the quarter-finals in straight sets.
The controversial decision was criticised by some, who claimed Djokovic was now at a disadvantage compared to other quarter-finalists who would have enjoyed more rest.
Speaking after his 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 victory over Mannarino, Djokovic said he had been given no reason other than security considerations.
“I obviously was not happy not to play [on Monday] night. I wanted to play. We could have played. And we were kept for two and a half hours in the dark without knowing what we were going to do. So, you know, you were on your toes, warming up cooling down.
“Really the referees office was completely indecisive.”
He said the players were told the match was to be cancelled because it was “going to take too long” to get the crowd back in, but the centre court ticket holders were already on Henman Hill,
“So it was frustrating last night, I must admit but I quickly just turned the next stage and focused on what I needed to do today and I have done it is straight sets and thats all that matters.”
Among those seemingly bemused by the decision was Djokovic’s wife, Jelena, on the day the couple celebrated their third wedding anniversary on Monday with affectionate posts on Instagram.
Tweets on an account believed to be hers indicated the treatment of her husband may not have gone down well. She wrote: “Hmmm. Change of plans again at Wimbledon?” with a thinking face emoji, shortly after she had written: “Central Court. Stops at 11 in any case. #letsgo #nolefam.
She later retweeted a message from a tennis journalist that said:
NO MORE PLAY. Djokovic - Mannarino postponed. Well done, Wimbledon. #Not
— Carole Bouchard (@carole_bouchard) July 10, 2017
Djokovic had been limbering up in preparation, clearly anticipating he would play. But the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said the decision had been taken on health and safety grounds.
Among the vocal critics was the three-time Wimbledon champion and now commentator John McEnroe, who accused the club of dithering.
“When they went into a fifth set it was clear that it was going late. Golden opportunity to put Novak Djokovic the three-time champion on Centre Court. Crowd would love that obviously.
“You can’t say the people on Court One didn’t get their money’s worth. They kept stalling. They kept changing their mind. They kept going ‘It’s going on. It’s coming off. It’s going on,’” he told the BBC.
Britain’s Laura Robson tweeted: “Also ... why has the Djokovic/Mannarino match not been moved?” And the former player Todd Woodbridge tweeted:
Given announcement no #Djokovic tonight it's actually #advantage #Federer and #Murray!!
— Todd Woodbridge (@toddwoodbridge) July 10, 2017
The AELTC said in a statement: “The safety and security of all visitors to the championships is of paramount importance. The preference was to play the Djokovic v Mannarino match as scheduled on number one court. When that was no longer an option, it was determined that match could not be moved to Centre Court due to the number of spectators remaining in the grounds.
“As late as 8.30pm, 30,000 people still remained in the grounds, and therefore moving the match would have created a significant safety issue.”
Criticism of the scheduling comes as Wimbledon fends off complaints over its decision to showcase more marquee men’s matches than women’s matches on its main two courts.
Djokovic and Mannarino were first up on Centre Court on Tuesday, which had its roof closed due to rain, while the start of play on outside courts was postponed due to wet weather.
Christopher Clarey, a US tennis writer, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the decision to postpone the match on Monday was wrong.
“I think they just got a little bit of a perfect storm in terms of the Nadal match, but generally it was a choice they should have made earlier. They should have brought him over here, I think. I agree with John [McEnroe].”
He added: “They were close to doing it and then they changed their mind.” He said his understanding was when the Centre Court crowd was still in place, and the match could have been moved more easily, Müller had a match point. But the Nadal v Müller match in fact ended up going on for much longer.
“Nonetheless. You cannot have a player not through when his opponent is already through,” he said.
