SuperNovak has been displaying his explosiveness all of this Wimbledon season. The top favorite, Novak Djokovic has been dominating the field this season, crushing his opponents like they are mere hindrances in his conquest of Slams. After the unexpectedly more difficult match in the 4R, Novak spoke about how there are things he still needs to get better at.
The exceptional serves from his Polish opponent, Hubert Hurkacz, led to 2 tiebreakers in the first 2 sets. Nole managed to break the tie and emerge victorious in each of these sets; however, the match was then paused due to the All England Club’s 11 p.m. curfew. The players continued their duel the following day at the same venue, but everything had changed by then!
Novak Djokovic wants Wimbledon to change the start time
During the post-game press conference, Nole expressed how it felt like, “two different matches, last night and today. Completely different conditions,” even though it was against the same player, on the same grass surface after a day-long break,
Djokovic had been trying to gauge the extraordinary serves of the Polish stunner on Sunday night. Although he was struggling, he still had a level of control. The next day, Nole had to start everything over, mainly due to the difference in the climate from the previous day. This made certain changes to the surface, and all of a sudden, Hubi was hitting a much better baseline shot leaving the legend perplexed and frustrated!
"I can't remember how I was this helpless (on my return games)."
"I didn't expect him to serve this well, this accurate in his serve games."
Novak Djokovic on Hubert Hurkacz's serving. Novak also would like to see a Noon start time for Centre Court play. #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/IMHdTpEaiY
— Andrew Jerell Jones, Luke 1:37 (IG:twdbk3) (@sluggahjells) July 10, 2023
Neither tennis lovers nor tennis professionals are fond of the 11 P.M curfew. Djokovic added that it would be much more effective if the tournament started by 12 P.M. While the uncertainty of tennis matches is inevitable, starting matches early could potentially help reduce the tension.
Novak Djokovic heads to Wimbledon quarter-final after win vs Hubert Hurkacz
On day 1, Hubi had hit 23 aces in the first 2 sets and Nole was struggling to break his serve. Despite this, the Serbian took the lead with 2 sets before the match was suspended. On day 2, even though Nole lost one set, he hit the restart button for himself. Finally having managed to break Hubert’s serve, the former world number 1 bagged the win.
The 23 Grand Slam-winning Serbian will be going against the Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals later today. With Rublev having announced that he does not like the grass surface, the Serbian is predicted to win in 3 straight sets. Fans will hope that this match isn’t suspended as well!
What are your thoughts on the scheduling of Wimbledon? Should they start the tournament a little earlier or extend the curfew? Let us know in the comments below!
