Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic said Wimbledon should consider rule changes after both their first-round opponents retired with injuries. Third seed Federer led 6-3, 3-0 when Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov quit with an ankle injury after 43 minutes.
Second seed Djokovic progressed after a calf injury saw Martin Klizan pull out at 6-2 2-0 down on 40 minutes.
Both Klizan and Dolgopolov have struggled with injuries recently and their retirements were among seven in the men’s draw and one in the women’s over the first two days of the Championships.
The men’s tour, the ATP, introduced a rule at the start of 2017 that means a player can retire before a first-round match and retain their prize money.
A lucky loser then gets the place and money earned from qualifying, plus any further prize money accrued from the second round onwards. The rule is not in place at the four Grand Slam tournaments.
First-round losers at Wimbledon earn 35,000 pounds this year, potentially encouraging players to take to the Court when they know they are not fit enough to compete.
today’s matches
Round of 64: Men’s Singles
16 G. Muller Vs L. Rosol
12 J.Tsonga Vs S. Bolelli
28 F. Fognini Vs J. Vesely
7 M. Cilic Vs F. Mayer
1 A. Murray Vs D. Brown
18 R. Bautista Agut Vs P. Gojowczyk
14 L. Pouille Vs J. Janowicz
4 R. Nadal Vs D. Young
Round of 128: Women’s Singles
15 E. Vesnina Vs V. Azarenka
8 D. Cibulkova Vs J. Brady
6 J. Konta Vs D. Vekic
13 J. Ostapenko Vs F. Abanda
18 A. Sevastova Vs H. Watson
10 V. Williams Vs Q. Wang
4 E. Svitolina Vs F. Schiavone
17 M. Keys Vs C. Giorgi
2 S. Halep Vs B. Haddad Maia
11 P. Kvitova Vs M. Brengle
Catch all the live action on Star Sports Select 1 and HD from 4 pm
This post was published on July 5, 2017 6:34 pm