Officials at Wimbledon are facing further criticism about the state of their courts from players with World No.1 Andy Murray being the latest to voice his concerns.
The All England Club was forced to release a statement on Thursday to defend the quality of court No.18. It came after France’s Kristina Mladenovic said both her and Alison Riske wanted to stop their match after two games ‘in case something bad happened.’ Meanwhile, French Open semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky has also criticised court No.18 by saying that she was ‘disappointed’ with the quality.
Less than 24 hours after those comments, concerns are now being raised about Centre Court, the premier court at Wimbledon. Top seed Murray, who defeated Fabio Fognini in a night time thriller, said during his press conference that the playing surface was not as good as ‘previous years.’
“The court I don’t think is in as good of condition as previous years. There’s quite a few spots on the court, like just behind the baseline and just in front of the baseline, where there’s quite big lumps of grass, sort of almost like little divots there, which I don’t remember really being the case.” He said.
“I don’t know if it’s anything to do with the weather that they’ve had over the last, you know, few weeks and months.”
During the opening week of Wimbledon, the tournament has been basking in the hot weather. Yesterday the temperature reached 43 degrees at grass level. As a consequence, the grass courts have been dried up with players complaining the surface is slippery. Italian world No.29 Fognini understands that the testing conditions are due to the heat. Still, he didn’t hold back when giving his verdict about playing on Centre Court.
“I think the courts this year are really, really bad than last few years.” He said. “Is not their (The All England Club) fault. I think this year was really sunny days, so the grass is not really good like last years.”
Not a problem for some
As Murray and Fognini question the conditions, other players have said the opposite. French Open champion Rafael Nadal played on the same court earlier in the day, defeating Karen Khachanov in straight sets. A two-time champion, this year is Nadal’s 12th appearance at SW19. Comparing this year’s tournament to the past, the Spaniard has played down the hype surrounding how slippery the courts are.
“I feel the court’s in good shape, similar to every year. I don’t see a big difference.” The former world No.1 stated.
British player Heather Watson shares the same perspective as Nadal. Watson fought with Victoria Azarenka for over two hours on court before going out in three sets.
“I found the courts here, because they’re so nice and smooth, they’re always a bit slippy. I don’t think it’s any different from any of the other years.” Watson evaluated.
The hot weather is set to ease off into the second week of Wimbledon. On Saturday the temperature is expected to peak at 23 degrees, but it will feel hotter on the court.
Officials at Wimbledon are yet to comment on the remarks made about Centre Court.
