Wimbledon event director Jamie Baker mentioned on Friday the grass courts have been “good and grippy” regardless of a number of high-profile tumbles within the first week of the Grand Slam.
Two-time champion Andy Murray had a nasty fall on Centre Court as he served for a two-sets-to-one lead in his second-round match in opposition to Stefanos Tsitsipas late on Thursday however acquired again up and gained the set.
US veteran Venus Williams fell closely in her first-round defeat to Elina Svitolina additionally on Centre Court on Monday, hurting her already-bandaged proper knee.
“I was literally killing it, then I got killed by the grass,” mentioned the 43-year-old five-time champion.
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Novak Djokovic’s match on the identical day was delayed for practically 90 minutes as a result of a humid courtroom as gamers expressed considerations over the floor.
On Thursday, France’s Alize Cornet crashed to the Centre Court turf when her left leg slipped late in her defeat to defending champion Elena Rybakina, although she was capable of stick with it with heavy strapping.
But Baker mentioned gamers had not expressed considerations over the state of the grass on the Grand Slam, which has been disrupted by rain.
“I’m really happy,” he mentioned. “I think the surface is as good and as grippy as I can remember to be honest in the early part of the tournament.
“There has been a handful of slips but there really hasn’t been many at all.
“Andy obviously slipped last night at the end but those instances actually could happen in the final just as much as at the start and particularly as we’ve had the roof on a lot.”
Baker additionally addressed the difficulty of the curfew at Wimbledon — Murray’s match in opposition to Tsitsipas was suspended late on Thursday because of the approaching 2200 GMT curfew.
The director mentioned officers wouldn’t change the coverage on begin instances to make sure earlier finishes in the course of the Grand Slam however added the difficulty was “constantly” below evaluate.
“What we’re really trying to do, particularly when it comes to the scheduling and tennis decisions, is try to avoid making a knee-jerk decision based on one or two matches and trying to take at least a three-year picture of what happens.”
He added: “That was unbelievably disappointing yesterday but if our data show that’s happening once every five years maybe on that balance the time is OK.”
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com