NOVAK DJOKOVIC raged at Wimbledon officials after his quarter-final clash was halted to close the roof on Centre Court.
Opponent Felix Auger-Aliassime had just won the second set to level the score when the tournament supervisor Denise Parnell came onto court.
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Novak Djokovic accused Wimbledon chiefs of not sticking to their rules Credit: Getty
Djokovic had just dropped the second set at the time of the controversy Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Djokovic was informed that the match would be paused for ten minutes to allow for the roof to close with daylight fading.
But with the time 7.40pm and darkness not expected to fall at Wimbledon until 9.17pm, Djokovic was left fuming.
The Serbian icon complained: “The other day you didn’t want to close it until 8.30pm. Now you want to close it.
“You don’t want to get to 8.30pm? It’s 7:40pm now.
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“We can play a whole another set outdoors. We’re an outdoor tournament.”
The official responded by bringing up Jannik Sinner‘s match against Shintaro Mochizuki on Jattvibeday when the roof was also closed early due to darkness.
But it only further enraged Djokovic, who added: “With Jannik, I don’t care what happens in his matches. I’m talking about our match right now.
“You remember the first round, you didn’t close it until like 8.20pm. Now you want to close it at 7.40pm. Where’s the consistency?
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“You’re so proud of your rules and you’re not sticking to any kind of rules.
“You have no idea what the rule is.”
Auger-Aliassime also seemed unhappy with the decision and asked if they had to close the roof.
Fans were also perplexed by the decision, with one saying: “Wimbledon should just admit they like having an evening match under the roof for the atmosphere, etc. So willing to close it at the first possible opportunity every time.”
Another added: “Wimbledon is an outdoor tournament. It is way too early to be shutting the roof, whilst there was still 1.5 hours of light. Djokovic has every right to be annoyed.”
A third commented: “I don’t see why they couldn’t have waited until the end of the third set. They’re over-using the roof.”
Late matches have been the source of much controversy at Wimbledon this year, with the roof being closed on nearly every day of the tournament despite not a drop of rain falling at SW19.
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Jannik Sinner is looking to retain the title with rival Carlos Alcaraz out injured.
But can Novak Djokovic claim a record 25th Grand Slam triumph and crown himself as the greatest player of all-time?
On the women’s side, No1 seed Aryna Sabalenka and defending champion Iga Swiatek have both been knocked out of the tournament, with Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka both looking to claim the crown.
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