Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray’s request set to be DISCARDED by Wimbledon amidst this year’s drama at the Grand Slam

Wimbledon unlikely to change start times, despite calls from Djokovic and Murray.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray’s request set to be DISCARDED by Wimbledon amidst this year’s drama at the Grand Slam

Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray (Images via Evening Standard, New York Times)

Wimbledon authorities are unlikely to tinker with the start times for Centre Court matches at next year’s edition of the tournament, despite calls from Novak Djokovic and Sir Andy Murray to start earlier in order to avoid the 11 PM curfew.

The All-England Club is concerned that overhauling the schedule could hamper its contractual obligations with broadcasting partners. Any scheduling changes would mean that the All England Club and the broadcasters would have to go back to the drawing board, and there could be a chance that the broadcasters would seek a substantial concession for broadcasting rights.

YouTube video

Wimbledon Chief Executive Sally Bolton promptly put to rest any speculation of a schedule change for next year’s event, citing the enormous jump in television viewing figures that the tournament has been able to garner in the past couple of years, since the decision to kick off matches at 1:30 PM on Centre Court was taken, in lieu of COVID-19 mitigation strategies. The authorities are also wary of potential backlash from local residents if curfew restrictions were to be relaxed.

FS Video

As per the terms agreed upon after the introduction of the 1:30 PM start, the All England Club has a £60 million-per-year deal with the BBC and a £400 million contract with ESPN. Sources indicate that the BBC could potentially be okay with a 1 PM start, but anything earlier than that is not something that they would even think of accepting.

Also read: Toni Nadal taints Novak Djokovic’s legacy naming Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as ‘more transcendental tennis figures’

Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray want start times moved up to avoid curfew

novak djokovic andy murray wimbledon
Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray in action (Images via The Independent, The Guardian)

Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic was less than pleased when the 11:00 PM curfew brought his Round of 16 match against Hubert Hurkacz to a grinding halt, just after he had seized the first two sets. While admitting that lifting the curfew restrictions was not an option, the World No. 2 proposed to advance the start time to 12:00 noon.

Like Novak, two-time Wimbledon champion Sir Andy Murray was also made to go through the hassle of resuming his Round 2 match against Stefanos Tsitsipas the following day after it was suspended due to the curfew enforcement. The Scotsman took to Twitter to indicate his stance on the issue. He retweeted an article by The Times calling for Wimbledon to scrap its 1:30 PM start policy.

The decision on whether or not to advance the start times of matches held on Centre Court is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. It would certainly help players if it meant that they could close their matches comfortably before the curfew kick-in time, but on the other hand, it could play spoilsport with broadcasting deals as it would mean a loss of prime airtime.

In case you missed it: