Wimbledon was accused of bias towards Novak Djokovic over closing the roof against Rafael Nadal despite no rain
Wimbledon is an outdoor event and only the referee decides whether to keep the roof shut or open.
Follow Us
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic (Image via The Independent)
In the semi-final at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, playing under the roof made Rafael Nadal angry. Novak Djokovic, who emerged victorious, however, had no problem with playing under the roof.
The reason why Wimbledon had to close the roof was due to a marathon semi-final match between Kevin Anderson and John Isner which lasted for a whopping 6 hours and 36 minutes. Due to this long match, only three sets were possible between Nadal and Djokovic before Wimbledon’s tight 11 pm curfew which doesn’t allow the match to continue. Djokovic was leading the match by two sets with the score of 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 while the match was played under a closed roof.
After the suspension, the match continued the next day after 1 pm but despite a clear and sunny sky, Wimbledon shut the roof only to anger Nadal and his team. Wimbledon is an outdoor event and only the referee decides whether to keep the roof shut or open.
Wimbledon changed the rule post this Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal incident
The referee who oversaw the match was Andrew Jarrett. Though Nadal protested for the cover to be retracted, the Serb great had a different opinion. Nadal, who won the tournament in 2008 and 2010, struggled a lot and had to see through this heavy loss with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (11/9), 3-6, 10-8 score in a match that lasted for 5 hours and 15 minutes.
“It’s an outdoor tournament. 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,” Nadal had said during the post-match press conference at that time. “If the previous part of the match started with the roof on, there was logic but I don’t understand why it had to be closed.”
On the other hand, Djokovic said that the referee and the organizers told them that they had to play under the roof because the day yesterday they played in the same conditions. Djokovic did not want to play in a different condition.
Next year, Wimbledon made a change in their rulebook stating that the referee won’t consult any player for the closing and opening of the roof. As Wimbledon is an outdoor grass Grand Slam event, the matches will be played without a roof except in conditions such as bad light or rain interruption.
In case you missed!
- Four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic’s road to 2023 Wimbledon revealed as the Serb faces a mix of old and new foes in form of Wawrinka, Kyrgios and Alcaraz
- Daniil Medvedev calls Wimbledon the WORST as he admits to requiring massive improvement at the Grand Slam
Stay Updated!
Gouri Das
(4747 Articles Published)