Wimbledon worries as Andy Murray accuses court of ‘extremely slippery’ of Serena Williams injury

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Andy Murray joined a growing chorus of players voicing concerns over Wimbledon’s “extremely” slippery surface on Tuesday night after Serena Williams became the tournament’s latest injury from a fall.

Williams, 23-time Grand Slam champion, was among a multitude of players who struggled with grass this week as she made a tearful exit following what appeared to be an ankle injury .

His ill-fated match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich came immediately after Roger Federer’s opponent Adrian Mannarino was also forced to retire after slipping and injuring his knee.

It’s obviously terrible that these are back-to-back games and it hits Serena too, Federer said on Tuesday night. Oh, my God, I can’t believe it.

Although the roof is used over the two Wimbledon courts, the wet weather this week seems to have taken its toll on the playing surface. On Monday, Novak Djokovic, known to be the game’s smoothest mover, and his opponent Jack Draper have slipped more than ten times between them.

After Williams pulled out following a seemingly innocuous slip behind the baseline, Murray, who features in the second round today (WED), tweeted that it had been “brutal” for her. “The center court is extremely slippery [sic] there, “he wrote.” Not easy to move there. “

Mannarino, who was unable to recover from a sprained knee after losing his footing in the middle of the fourth set against Federer, also criticized the area.

“I just slipped and it was really slippery,” he said. “I heard a big crackle and immediately knew there was nothing I could do. I’m not used to playing on center court at Wimbledon. It’s hard for me to compare, especially playing last week in Spain where the weather was really dry and the grounds weren’t slippery at all. I didn’t have a lot of time to practice before the game and the pitch definitely felt slippery. “

The All England Club had previously been criticized for the condition of their grass courts in 2013 after seven players retired with injury in a single day of play. Maria Sharapova slipped three times and was heard muttering that this court is dangerous.

Williams ‘first-round exit was a desperate blow to her hopes of eventually matching Margaret Courts’ record, 24 Grand Slam singles titles. She was forced to retire through injury just six games from her first-round match with Sasnovich.

Weather conditions have an impact on how the grass feels underfoot, and Federer pointed out last night that a closed roof of the center-court can also create a feeling of damp and dampness.

It feels a little more slippery maybe under the roof, said Federer after advancing to the second round for the 18th consecutive time at this event. I don’t know if it’s just a hunch. I feel like it’s drier during the day. With the wind and all that, it removes moisture from the grass.

The All England Club had not responded to multiple comments from senior players last night, but it sounds like a more concerted series of criticism than we heard in 2013. In both cases, the crash epidemic on the land arose after a cold spring and a period of wet and rainy weather.

Coco Gauff, the 17-year-old sensation who beat Great Britain’s Fran Jones on court 2, was another player to address the issue last night. I think everyone saw me slide and slide on the pitch, she said. I didn’t realize it until after the game, but my coaches told me that when I went to get my towel, the floor was super wet at the back so it got my shoes wet; so, I was slipping a bit.

Showing typical maturity and insight, Gauff also pointed out that players are not used to moving on the grass because the season is so short, an issue that has been exacerbated this year by the decision of the French Tennis Federation to roll back the recent Roland pandemic.

Many players get used to sliding during the clay season, which shortly precedes Wimbledon. But sliding on the grass is a dangerous business, and even Djokovic, the master of balance who is also an expert skier, admitted after Monday’s first round game that he may have to change his approach.

“I don’t remember falling on the pitch so many times,” Djokovic said in his field interview. “Pretty slippery. I don’t know if it’s because the roof is closed or because it rained a lot. the last few days Maybe I’ll work poorly on my movement and slide a little less because it doesn’t seem to work on this surface.

Federer and Murray are the best representatives of a style of movement on grass that involves smaller steps and thus keeps their body weight under tighter control. If you push too hard at the wrong times, Federer said, you go down.

Gauff also admitted that she was forced to turn away from television on Tuesday night when Williams fell to the ground in tears and then said a poignant farewell to the crowd.

I was in the gym stretching, Gauff said. I turned away because this stuff makes me really emotional. This is the reason why I started to play tennis. It’s hard to see any player get hurt, but especially her.

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