Novak Djokovic has been the latest tennis star to complain about Wimbledon’s late finishes on Centre Court due to bad light.
However, tournament CEO Sally Bolton has denied claims suggesting changes to the start times on Centre Court and Court 1 are to boost TV ratings amid the tournament’s £60million-a-year deal with the BBC.
Djokovic complained that he was playing an ‘indoor tournament’ when scheduled to feature last on Centre Court, particularly lamenting the 1.30pm start of play and 20-minute breaks between matches. He said: “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.”
But Bolton has hit back at Djokovic, stating that Wimbledon can’t control how long the matches on Centre Court go on and that players are in action much later at other Grand Slams.
“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,” Bolton explained.
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