"It's an indoor tournament if you play last" - Djokovic complains about late matches, Wimbledon denies doing it on purpose

| by Drew Tate

Novak Djokovic has complained about the late matches at Wimbledon but the event has shut down suggestions it's to improve ratings.

There have been suggestions in the UK that Wimbledon was moving the centre court schedule back on purpose to make the matches last into the night which would increase ratings and get more people into the stands. The event has never had later starting times on the centre court than this time and players did not like it. Djokovic escaped the curfew only by 30 minutes last night against Van Rijthoven and after the match, he questioned the starting times.

I don’t see a reason why there wouldn’t be an earlier start, to be honest, particularly now that there are on-court interviews that we didn’t have up to a few years ago. Also, the time between the matches, you almost certainly – if you’re scheduled last on the Centre – 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 Centre or Court 1.

Djokovic on Wimbledon starting times
Nick Kyrgios reaches first Grand Slam quarterfinals since 2015 at Wimbledon
Nick Kyrgios reaches first Grand Slam quarterfinals since 2015 at Wimbledon

The changes are believed to have been implemented after discussions between the AELTC and the BBC, which has exclusive rights to broadcast the championships. Sally Bolton, the AELTC chief executive, on Monday defended Wimbledon’s scheduling, saying there were no plans to bring start times forward or to introduce night matches.

I think it’s understandable that players are providing feedback on the experience that they’re having at the championships and of course we take account of all of that as we think about the way in which we plan our days. There haven’t been significant changes to the schedule, we will always take account of the feedback we receive and look at what we do. She also defended the breaks in matches, saying it allowed spectators “to have fun, to eat, to visit the loo.

Bolton on Wimbledon starting times
Wimbledon organisers fined over 1 million dollars by the WTA for banning players from Russia and Belarus
Wimbledon organisers fined over 1 million dollars by the WTA for banning players from Russia and Belarus

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