Tim Henman wants Wimbledon rule change after what Arthur Fery did against Grigor Dimitrov
Tim Henman pulls double duty when Wimbledon swings around, as a member of the All England Club board and a commentator for BBC Sports’ coverage of the Grand Slam.
Henman might have political sway on what happens at the iconic Grand Slam, but that does not stop him from sharing his opinion on certain faults with Wimbledon while he is on air.
The former British No 1 was on commentary duty for Arthur Fery’s fourth round clash with Grigor Dimitrov and he called out an annoyance he’s noticed at the Grand Slam so far this year.
Fery took the first set against the Bulgarian, but he was quickly pegged back to one set all. The British star responded by opting to take a toilet break to change his clothes, which Henman shared his dissatisfaction with.
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“Once you get to the area that you’re going to change your clothes, you get five minutes. There’s a couple of little changing options just behind those doubles doors behind Centre Court,” said Henman, explaining the reasoning for the delay in the match.
Henman would like to see the rule scrapped as he believes it severely disrupts the momentum of the match, although he understands why they are still implemented.
“For me it’s a break that you’d like to get rid of, but unfortunately if it’s a bathroom break, or playing in these hot climates around, which you’d probably put London into it now, I think you’ve always got to give the players that opportunity,” he said.
“But it does disrupt the rhythm, and therefore the momentum of these matches sometimes,” said Henman, as the reasoning behind him wanting the Grand Slam to move away from changing breaks.
Fery has opted to take the breaks throughout his matches at Wimbledon and it’s hard to argue that they haven’t helped him overcome the odds.
Until his match against Dimitrov, Fery had lost the first set of his first three matches at Wimbledon, so he was always needing a comeback at SW19.
Fery defeated Damir Džumhur, Otto Virtanen, and Zizou Bergs. He needed four sets to topple Dzumhur and Viranen and the full five sets to defeat Bergs.
As a result of his exploits at Wimbledon this year, Fery has confirmed to enter the top 100 no matter what happens in his match against Dimitrov.
That puts Fery in a very good position heading into the US Open and there is every chance he could enter the last Grand Slam of the year without having to go through qualifying, which would be a huge boost for the British star.
