Novak Đokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 a record seven times.[8] He has won 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record nine Australian Open titles. Overall, he has won 87 ATP singles titles, including a record 38 Masters events. Djokovic and Don Budge are the only men to complete a non-calendar year Grand Slam and the first man in the Open Era to achieve a double Career Grand Slam. He is also the only player to complete the Career Golden Masters on the ATP Tour, which he has done twice.
Djokovic began his professional career in 2003. At age 20, he disrupted Roger Federer's and Rafael Nadal's streak of 11 consecutive majors to win his first Grand Slam title at the 2008 Australian Open. By 2010, Djokovic also separated himself from the rest of men's tennis to join Federer and Nadal in the Big Three, the group of three players who have dominated men's tennis for more than a decade.
A day after reigning champions Novak Djokovic questioned the scheduling of Wimbledon and how it is turning into an indoor tournament, All England Club has defended their stance on late finishes on Center Court.
The reality of running a tennis event is that once you start the day, you have no idea when the day is going to finish. It is pretty unpredictable, Sally Bolton, All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club chief executive, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Novak Djokovic had earlier said that the start times for the evening sessions at All England Club were effectively turning Wimbledon into an indoor tournament for players scheduled to play late matches on the main show courts.
If you’re scheduled last in the Center, you’re going to end up a match under the roof, which changes the conditions, the style of play, the way you move on the court. It’s more slippery. The lights. It’s really an indoor tournament in most of the cases when you’re scheduled last on Center or Court One.
Former Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray, too had complained about the scheduling after his match against Australia’s James Duckworth was interrupted for 10 minutes as the roof closed. Duckworth twice complained about the quality of light as the sun began to set.
“It’s not that easy, changing conditions like that, and also having breaks like that, potentially key points in matches. I would much rather play outdoors. I prefer playing outdoors when we can,” Murray said after his four-set victory.
I wish there was a way of finishing the matches outdoors more often because it’s tricky stopping for 10, 12 minutes in the middle of a match at important stages. It kills the momentum a bit. You cool off a bit, as well. Again, it’s a change in conditions.
However, Bolton feels there haven’t been significant changes to the schedule. He said: I think it’s understandable that players are providing feedback on the experience that they’re having at the Championship, and of course we take account of all of that as we think about the way in which we plan our days.
You must be logged in to post a comment.