London: Wimbledon defended shunting top women players onto the outside courts on “Manic Monday”, saying the big four of men’s tennis were the marquee matches demanded by broadcasters and spectators.
Andy Murray and Roger Federer’s matches were put on the 15,000-seater Centre Court, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on Court One on the second Monday, when all the men’s and women’s last-16 matches are played on the same day.
Former champion Venus Williams made it on the Centre Court bill, while British home favourite Johanna Konta rounded out the order of play on Court One, which holds 11,000.
That meant world number one Angelique Kerber was out on the 4,000-seater Court Two facing fellow former runner-up Garbine Muguruza, followed by former world number one Victoria Azarenka against world number two Simona Halep.
On the 2,000-seater Court Three, former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska faced two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, followed by ex-world number one Caroline Wozniacki.
Meanwhile, the new French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was on the 1,000-seater Court 12 show court.
All England Club chief executive Richard Lewis said the nature of Wimbledon’s Manic Monday — unique among the four Grand Slams in that all last-16 matches are played on the same day — meant big name players would not get on the main courts.
“You’ve got four of the all-time great male players: Rafa, Roger Novak and Andy. You’re left with some difficult choices,” he told reporters.
“We absolutely respect that Angelique is number one in the world, Muguruza is a former finalist, a Grand Slam winner. It was a tough decision. But we are spoilt for choice. There are matches on Courts Two and Three today that would grace Centre on any other day.”
The decision to make five-time Wimbledon winner Williams the only big-name woman to play on Centre Court was a unanimous one, he said.
“We felt that a former champion and one of the all-time great players deserved to be on Centre Court. Venus has played on Court One three times so it felt like the right time,” said Lewis.
Lewis also defended Wimbledon’s courts, saying they are playing as well as ever and there is nothing unusual in the slipping and sliding that disrupted some matches in the tournament’s first week.
Conditions this year have been hotter and drier than usual, and some players have questioned the quality of the surface.
“One of the things this year has proved is the value of middle Sunday. That when you have a full schedule of play and very good weather the courts benefit from a rest,” he told a small group of reporters.
— AFP
