Injury retirements plague Wimbledon's first round
WIMBLEDON, England — In an odd twist of fate, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer played abbreviated back-to-back first-round encounters on Wimbledon’s Centre Court on Tuesday when both of their opponents surrendered way before their matches neared completion.
The second-seeded Djokovic, fresh off of winning the Eastbourne title on Saturday, was leading 6-3, 2-0 when Martin Klizan of Slovakia retired with a left leg injury at the 40-minute mark of the match.
The third-seeded Federer, hoping to win an eighth Wimbledon title this year, was leading 6-3, 3-0 against Alexandr Dolgopolov in the next match when the Ukrainian retired citing a right ankle injury after 43 minutes of play.
“It’s really odd that Roger’s result and my result, more or less was the same,” Djokovic said. “We had a little joke about it in the locker room, saying we should maybe play a practice set on the Centre Court, have the crowd stay.
“If you walk out on the Centre Court, there is a responsibility,” he added. “I’m sure they tried their best, but it is what it is.”
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Needless to say, Centre Court ticket-holders were hardly delighted by the misfortune that befell them. Yes, they had the hottest tennis ticket in town, and they did see world No. 1 Angelique Kerber post a 6-4, 6-4 win over Irina Falconi of the United States in the first match. But on the day, their trip to Wimbledon delivered little entertainment value, especially considering the tickets don’t come cheap.
To make up for the shortened schedule, the Club did move another match to Centre Court — fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated Timea Babos of Hungary 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
“When I went out (of the court), I felt like there was a bit of a letdown from the crowd,” Federer said. “They couldn’t believe that it happened again, exactly the same situation. Called the trainer after the set, pulled out at 3-Love, the same thing. I feel for the crowd. They’re there to watch good tennis, proper tennis.”
And the two Centre Court retirements aren’t the only ones to shake up the men’s first round.
Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia became the sixth man to forfeit a match with only two days of play finished. A right hamstring injury sustained in practice three days ago saw Tipsarevic call it quits against Jared Donaldson on Tuesday, with the American leading 5-0 after 12 minutes on court.
On Monday’s opening day, the men’s main draw saw three retirements: 20th-seeded Nick Kyrgios of Australia, Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan and Viktor Troicki of Serbia all walked away before competing matches.
Beyond the fact that most players consider Wimbledon the holy grail of tennis, which makes it an attractive event to play, the first-round prize money at a Grand Slam is a definite allure. At Wimbledon, the men and women receive a whopping £35,000 first-round paycheck — the equivalent of approximately $45,000.
“A player should not go on court if he knows he could not finish,” Federer said. “The question is, did they truly believe they were going to finish. If they did, I think it’s OK that they walk on court. Otherwise, I feel they should give up the spot.
“It’s a lot of money,” added Federer, understanding the incentive to attempt to play. “For some it’s more, for some it’s less. For some, they just want to be out there because they feel like miracles happen: maybe the other guy retires, or maybe the other guy is carrying an injury.”
The ATP Tour recently instituted a new rule where twice during the year players can receive first-round prize money even if they withdraw from the tournament. That scenario opens the door for a lucky loser — someone who didn’t qualify out of the qualifying tournament, but would be the next player into the main draw according to their result — to gain entry into the main draw of a tournament.
It works out to be something of a smart gamble for the lucky loser. While they don’t receive first-round prize money — that goes to the original player who withdrew — if the lucky loser wins their first-round match they would earn at least second-round prize money dependent on how far they go in the tournament.
Djokovic and Federer, who both endorse the new ATP rule, suggested that a similar rule should be adopted by the Grand Slams.
Tipsarevic is currently ranked 63rd, but has weighed in as high as eighth in the world. For him, the choice to go on court was made with doctor’s approval.
“Knock on wood I’ve earned enough money that my life doesn’t depend on this check,” Tipsarevic said. “It would’ve been unfair if the doctor told me I had a tear and I just went on the court to get the first-round prize money, which is really, really high for some of us.
“If a guy, who is all of his life playing Challengers (lower-level tournaments) and suddenly has a chance to play Wimbledon main draw where a first-round loss is [worth] 35,000 pounds, I don’t think anybody has the right to judge him, to say you didn’t do the right thing, you’re unfair for going there,” he added. “That same guy next week has to pay a coach, and all the other expenses, to go to a Challenger, where he only gets 150 or 200 Euros.”
