Novak Djokovic criticized Wimbledon officials over the decision to close the Centre Court during his quarterfinal match against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday.
With the match underway, tournament referee Denise Parnell instructed officials to close the retractable roof at approximately 7:40 p.m. Both Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime protested the decision, arguing that they wanted to keep playing outdoors in natural light.
The Serb confronted the supervisor of the court, accusing the tournament of lacking a clear standard and failing to follow its own guidelines. Reminding the officials that Wimbledon is an outdoor tournament, he argued that there was still enough daylight to complete another set. He also questioned the inconsistency in the tournament’s handling of roof closures, saying:
“The other day you didn’t want to close it until 8:30. Now you want to close it. You don’t want to get to 8:30? It’s 7:40 now. We can play a whole Another set outdoors. We’re an outdoor tournament. With Jannik, I don’t care what happens in his matches. I’m talking about our match right now. You remember the first round, you didn’t close it til like 8:20. Now you want to close it at 7:40. Where’s the consistency?” Djokovic SAID.
He added:
“You’re so proud of your rules, and you’re not sticking to any kind of rules. You have no idea what the rule is.”
Several X users echoed Djokovic’s criticism of the roof closure decision:
Another fan commented:
Novak Djokovic made history at Wimbledon on Sunday by recording his 106th men’s singles match win with a victory over Roman Safiullin. The win saw him surpass his longtime rival Roger Federer, who held the record with 105 singles victories at the tournament.
Novak Djokovic opened up about his recovery routine after Wimbledon matches
During the postmatch news conference after his fourth-round win over Roman Safiullin at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic was asked about the recovery methods and technologies he uses. Revealing that recovery has become a major part of his routine, he explained that he adjusts his recovery based on what his body needs after the match.
“I think that the amount of time I spend recovering nowadays is more than I have ever done. It’s just the demands of the body nowadays. More wear and tear. Can’t say I always enjoy it. You know, takes away a lot of the time, but it’s a part of the process and adjustment to the body changes, I guess, in the late years, last several years,” Djokovic said.
“But throughout my career, I always try to look what can give me an edge. What’s the best recovery wellness technology out there, from hyperbaric chambers to cryochambers to cold immersions to red light therapy to pulse electromagnetic therapies to, there’s a lot of things that I have used, and I’ve been using and still using. I mean, I like that. I think sometimes less is more as well, so you just kind of have to feel what really works for you.”
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