Alexander Zverev Disregards Wimbledon Curfew Rule After Reaching Quarterfinals

Alexander Zverev has downplayed the 11:00 pm curfew controversy at Wimbledon after his round of 16 match was suspended on Monday (July 6), forcing him to finish the tie against Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday (July 7) at the All England Club. He won the tie and earned his place in the quarter-finals of the grass-court Grand Slam.

At the time that Zverev’s match against Lehecka was suspended, he held a solid lead. The German star won the first two sets 6-4, 7-5, and was tied 3-3 in the third set when the match was put on hold. When it picked up on Tuesday (July 7), Lehecka looked like a better player than Zverev on the court.

The Czech Republic star appeared to have benefited most from the time off, and he won three straight games to begin the day, taking the match to a fourth set. That was when Zverev woke up from his slumber, winning his first game. After trading games, the set was eventually decided on a tiebreak.

Zverev won the match 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(6), reaching the quarter-finals. The match was initially held at the Center Court on Monday (July 6), but when it resumed the following day, the players were forced to play on another court with almost no crowd. Nonetheless, the organizers didn’t envisage Zverev losing the third set.

However, the suspension of the match sparked controversy on social media, with some fans slamming the tournament organizers for failing to take into account that the match needed only a few minutes to end. Speaking to the media, Zverev disregarded the controversy, revealing that Wimbledon has a strict 11:00 pm curfew rule which every player knows:

Of course, I would change it. When you are leading two sets to love, 3-3 in the third, of course, you want to keep playing. We, as players, know this, we accept it. There’s nothing we can do about it. I think yesterday I was in an excellent rhythm, playing phenomenal tennis indoors, so of course, I would have wanted to continue. It’s part of Wimbledon, we know it, we accept it. There’s no issue.

When Zverev finished his fourth-round match against Lehecka, other players were already in their quarter-final matches. Minutes after his win, Jannik Sinner was already on the court facing Jan-Lennard Struff. Sinner won his match in straight sets to reach the semi-finals, while Zverev will have just a few hours to prepare for his last-eight match.

Alexander Zverev gives his take on the Center Court roof rule at Wimbledon

Grigor Dimitrov has been one of the few players against the closing of the Center Court roof while playing. The Bulgarian star has admitted that each time that’s about to happen, a recollection of the pectoral injury he suffered at last year’s Wimbledon Championships against Jannik Sinner makes him nervous.

Also, Novak Djokovic admitted after his opening-round match against Wu Yibing that he began to slip on the court after the roof was closed. The Wimbledon organizers have a strict rule of closing the roof at night. Alexander Zverev reacted to the roof rule, pointing out that it is one of the most interesting rules of the tournament:

I found the roof more interesting. I didn’t know the rule had changed and that we had to play with the roof open the next day. That seemed more interesting to me because it also changed the dynamics of the match. They are completely different conditions. Yes, that was the most surprising thing for me. But everything else is fine.

Zverev has lost just one match since the Roland Garros last month. The World No.3 won the French Open, his first Grand Slam of his career, and then reached the semi-finals of the Berlin Tennis Open.

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