The likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are set to be made to wait to learn whether Wimbledon will change their start times next year after being caught out by the curfew. Play is only allowed to go on until 11pm at the All England Club and two matches had to be carried over at this year’s Championships while two came close to the deadline. But any alteration to the schedule will likely only be announced at the annual spring press conference – nine months away.
The curfew wreaked havoc at Wimbledon this year as Murray’s second-round clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas had to stop at the conclusion of the third set, 20 minutes before the 11pm cut-off point. Djokovic was also affected, with his fourth-round match against Hubert Hurkacz stopping at 10:34pm on day seven of the Championships.
Both men then criticised the later 1:30pm start time on Centre Court after different outcomes to their matches – Murray losing in five sets after leading by two sets to one when play stopped while Djokovic won in four after winning the first two in tiebreaks on Sunday night. And the Serb had another brush with the curfew in the third round against Stan Wawrinka – managing to wrap up the victory at 10:46pm.
There were also concerns when 2022 champion Elena Rybakina and last Brit standing Katie Boulter took to Cente Court just before 9pm on the first Saturday of the tournament. But the third seed needed just 57 minutes to win – saving the tournament of another stoppage to a match.
If Wimbledon is to reconsider the 1:30pm start time on Centre Court – and perhaps even the 1pm start on Court 1 – it would likely be a lengthy process with several stakeholders to consult. The All England Club often announces its most pressing news about the tournament in the annual spring press conference, usually falling in the last week of April.
And if they do make a decision over the schedule, it will likely be announced during this news conference – meaning Djokovic and Murray have to wait nine months to learn whether their pleas fall on deaf ears or not. After his two-day victory over Hurkacz, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was asked whether the club needed to look at the Centre Court start and proposed a much earlier time.
“I think so. I agree with that,” the world No 2 said. “Obviously curfew is probably something that is much more difficult to change, I understand, because of the community and the residential area we are in. I think the matches could be pushed at least to start at 12:00. I think it would make a difference.”
Meanwhile, Murray – a two-time Wimbledon winner and the first home champion in 77 years – was initially uncertain on his thoughts on the start time but later made his stance clear on social media. “I don’t know. Wimbledon make their decisions. It’s obviously not just what’s best for the players,” he said of the scheduling.
“There’s obviously other things, like TV, hospitality, those sorts of things that are factored into those decisions. I’m sure they’re weighing all of those things up to try and make the right decision for the event. I don’t know whether they think that it’s been good or not. I don’t know how they decide on that.”
But the 36-year-old went on to retweet an article calling for Wimbledon to scrap their 1:30pm Centre Court start after multiple matches came close to the 11pm curfew. All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton did admit that there would be a “review” on the start times at the conclusion of this year’s Championships but said there had been positives to some of the later matches.
Discussing the ticket holders, she said: “They get a very, very full day in Centre Court and as I walked out last night, as they were all leaving, what I saw and felt was a real buzz of excitement from people who’d had a fantastic full day on Centre Court.
“And as far as the TV audience is concerned, matches are happening at a time when they’re accessible to people. We’re seeing viewing figures that are beyond our expectations and beyond previous years, so I think they probably speak for themselves.”
Bolton will be part of the spring press conference next year, when players and fans will learn whether play can be moved up on the biggest show court to avoid more matches being carried over when it gets to 11pm.
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