“Will they close the roof?” John McEnroe takes a cheeky dig at Novak Djokovic amid scheduling fiasco over alleged incident involving Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon a few years ago

Scheduling Controversy Surrounds the Djokovic-Fritz Match on the Hottest Day at the US Open

“Will they close the roof?” John McEnroe takes a cheeky dig at Novak Djokovic amid scheduling fiasco over alleged incident involving Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon a few years ago

John McEnroe, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic (Credits: Deadline and The Guardian)

The order of play for day nine indicates that Novak Djokovic‘s quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz is scheduled for an early afternoon start at Arthur Ashe Stadium. With temperatures in the mid-90s Fahrenheit, it is unclear if the event organizers will choose to close the roof.

Former world number one Andy Roddick, weighed in, pointing out that playing in such temperatures could really benefit Fritz. Roddick explained that the afternoon circumstances would be beneficial for him, who thrives in hot weather and enjoys faster-playing courts.

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Amidst all this fiasco, John McEnroe jumped in to take a jibe at Novak Djokovic’s previous controversy regarding the closing of the roof at Wimbledon. As the daytime match might not favor the Serb, the veteran jokingly made a remark, saying, “Will they close the roof (again) tomorrow?“

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Tennis lovers, especially Djokovic’s fans, were surprised by the scheduling decision, as all four QF matches are scheduled for Arthur Ashe Stadium. In addition to Djokovic vs. Fritz, there is an all-American clash between Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton in the men’s draw, and sixth seed Coco Gauff is going to face Jelena Ostapenko, with Sorana Cirstea facing Karolina Muchova in the women’s draw.

The organizers surprised everyone when they announced that Gauff vs. Ostapenko would be the first match on Ashe, followed by Djokovic vs. Fritz. Cirstea and Muchova would open the evening session, followed by Tiafoe and Shelton.

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Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic (Credit: Tennishead)

Intriguingly, the problematic scheduling decision recalls a previous roof-related incident at Wimbledon a few years ago. When the ceiling was closed during Rafael Nadal‘s semi-final versus Djokovic, Nadal complained that it benefited his opponent.

The Nadal camp highlighted Wimbledon rules, noting that the roof should be closed only if the weather conditions render it too dark to play outside. The decision to close the roof that night resulted in a suspended match owing to Wimbledon’s 11 p.m. curfew, which ultimately led to Nadal’s defeat.

The rulebook, specifically Clause A in the Protocol for the Use of the Roof, states: “The Championships is an outdoor daytime event. Therefore, in good weather, the roof will only be used if it is too dark to play on without it.“

“It’s an outdoor tournament,” said Nadal, who is notoriously bad at indoor tennis. “OK, we start indoors. What I don’t understand is, today, we could have started outdoors. Today we continued undercover because we started undercover. I don’t think it’s right. It’s an outdoor tournament,” he concluded.

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