Novak Djokovic criticises Wimbledon rule after complaint during Felix Auger-Aliassime epic
Novak Djokovic complained about the roof being closed during his Wimbledon quarter-final win against Felix Auger-Aliassime, and he has made another telling comment on the topic.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner defeated third seed Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(4) in an epic Centre Court showdown lasting five hours and 15 minutes.
After Auger-Aliassime won the second set at around 7:40pm, organisers made the decision to close the roof despite the fact that light did not seem to be a problem.
Djokovic made it clear to the chair umpire that he was not happy and questioned the inconsistency with roof closures during the tournament.
“Why now? Why now? The other day you didn’t want to close it until like 8:20-8:30pm and now you want to close it? You don’t want to get to 8.30pm? It’s 7.40pm now. We can play a whole set outdoors. We are an outdoor tournament,” said Djokovic.
“With Jannik [Sinner], I don’t care what happens with his matches, I’m talking about our match right now. And you remember the first round? We didn’t close it [the roof] until like 8.20-8.30pm. Now you want to close it at 7.40pm?
“Where’s the consistency? You are so proud of your rules and you are not sticking to any kind of rules. You have no idea what the rule is.”
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The Centre Court roof was also closed during Djokovic’s first and second round matches at the All England Club.
Djokovic sealed his victory over Auger-Aliassime at 10:52pm — just eight minutes before the 11pm Wimbledon curfew.
In his post-match press conference, Djokovic referenced the roof again when asked about the late finishes at Wimbledon this year.
“I feel like I played more indoor tournament than outdoor, to be honest,” the No 7 seed replied.
The 39-year-old Serb went on to express the excitement he felt at playing such an incredible match.
“I mean, at the same time, it’s exciting to be part of such an epic match that was played over five hours, whatever it was. I don’t even know exact time,” Djokovic said.
“Just one of the best matches I was honestly part of in Wimbledon. I don’t recall playing this long any match. Maybe Roger final 2019 comes close in terms of the time and length.
“But it was really, really super even. Anyone’s game. Honestly, also Felix really played on a high level. He dropped his level a little bit in that super tiebreak. I used all my opportunities and hung in there, played the right shots. That was enough.
“The crowd was up on their feet, particularly the last 30 minutes of the match. They also recognised how special the moment is of us battling the curfew, as well, a few minutes earlier than 11. Yeah, just very proud to come out as a winner.”
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