Three-time champion Novak Djokovic overcame an injury scare to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the ninth time yesterday and then lashed out at the Centre Court, claiming a hole has opened up on the surface.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns against France's Adrian Mannarino during the quarter-final match at Wimbledon yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
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Three-time champion Novak Djokovic overcame an injury scare to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the ninth time yesterday and then lashed out at the Centre Court, claiming a hole has opened up on the surface.
The second seed needed treatment on his long-standing right shoulder injury during his 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win over France's Adrian Mannarino. But as well as worrying about the state of his shoulder, the 30-year-old slammed the poor quality of the All England Club courts. "I told the chair umpire that there was a hole in the middle of the court on the service line. I showed him and he was not very pleased about it," said Djokovic. "The courts are not great this year and many of the players feel the same. I am sure the groundsmen are the best in the world, but grass is the most complex surface to maintain. "I have played on better courts."
Djokovic needed treatment on his right shoulder after the fifth game of the third set and a medical timeout at 4-3 to treat the same problem."We'll see on the shoulder. It is something which I have been dragging back and forth for a while but I am still managing to play," he added.
Djokovic will face the Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych today for a semi-final spot He called for Wimbledon to introduce a fifth-set tie-breaker as a key tool in solving scheduling controversies at the Grand Slam event.
The former World No. 1 was angry that he was unable to play his fourth-round match as planned on Monday after Gilles Muller and Rafael Nadal fought out a five-set epic on Court One. Asked whether he supported the introduction of a tie-breaker fifth set, Djokovic said: "Yes. I just don't see any reason why not."
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