Andy Murray has slammed the ‘ridiculous’ decision to close the Centre Court roof during Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon win over Grigor Dimitrov.
Sinner, 23, progressed to the quarter-finals on Monday after Dimitrov was dramatically forced to retire from the match with a pectoral muscle injury.
Dimitrov had won the first two sets against Sinner – and was leading 6-3 7-5 2-2 – but it counted for nothing after he was unable to continue playing.
British tennis legend Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion, was watching the clash from home and couldn’t understand why the roof had been closed after the conclusion of the second set.
‘So ridiculous to close the roof at this stage of the match,’ Murray posted at 8.30pm BST when it was still light outside in south west London.
‘At least an hour of light left….well over a set of tennis can still be played… it’s an outdoor tournament!’
Henman defends decision to close roof
Speaking on commentary duties for the BBC when the roof was closed, former British No.1 Tim Henman defended the decision, insisting that it was ‘ideal conditions’ for the two players.
‘I always felt the players sweat more, and there is a little bit less air flow,’ Henman said.
‘It is absolutely ideal conditions, there is little wind with the roof open and none now.’
Rusedski: Closed roof gave Sinner a boost
Another former British No.1, Greg Rusedski, argued that closing the roof handed Italian world No.1 Sinner a boost.
‘If I was Grigor Dimitrov, I would say to keep playing [with the roof open],’ Rusedski said on BBC Radio 5 Live. ‘These conditions are working brilliantly for him.
‘When you close the roof, you do have perfect conditions and light but that is going to help Jannik Sinner because it is going to slow down the pace of play and his toss will be in the right place on top of that.
‘So if I was Dimitrov, I would’ve said keep the roof open and let’s try to play one more set even with the bad light. This actually favours Sinner.’
Sinner: This is not the end we wanted
Sinner, meanwhile, speaking on the court after his walkover win over 34-year-old 19th-seed Dimitrov, said: ‘I don’t take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness.
‘He has struggled in Grand Slams with injuries a lot so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. We all saw by his reaction how much he cares about the sport and he is one of the hardest working players on tour.
‘Thank you for coming, but this is not the end we wanted to see and it’s very sad. We all wish him only the best – let’s give an applause for him and his team.’
