Wimbledon champ Andy Murray blasts 'ridiculous' decision made by tournament bosses before Dimitrov's horror injury
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has blasted tournament bosses after making a “ridiculous” decision during a major match.
The two-time British champ took to social media to vent his frustration after the roof on Centre Court was closed during the match between Grigor Dimitrov and Jannik Sinner on Monday evening (July 7).
Andy fumed over the decision to close the roof, which happened just as Dimitrov was setting up a potential huge shock as he went two sets up on world number one Sinner. Wimbledon bosses took the decision to close the roof just before 8.30pm, with a 13 minute delay added to the match.
Andy, who won the tournament in 2013 and 2016, said: “So ridiculous to close the roof at this stage of the match. At least an hour of light left….well over a set of tennis can still be played..its an outdoor tournament!”
The decision may have had an effect on Dimitrov’s gameplan, which was working “brilliantly” according to former British No.1, Greg Rusedski. He said: "If I was Grigor Dimitrov, I would say to keep playing. 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."
However, British tennis legend Tim Henman defended the decision, saying while commentating on the match: "I always felt the players sweat more, and there is a little bit less air flow. It is absolutely ideal conditions, there is little wind with the roof open and none now."
The decision to close the roof ended up being inconsequential to the match, after Dimitrov was forced to retire due to injury. The Bulgarian, who was up 6-3 7-5, injured his pectoral muscle while performing a volley in the third set, with Sinner being the first to run to his aid.
After leaving the court for medical examination, he return to the court and conceded the game to Sinner, who avoided a huge upset in the process of Dimitrov retiring. Sinner admitted that his progress to the quarter-finals was not “a win”.
In his post-match interview, the Italian player said: "I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for all of us to witness. He has struggled in the last 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. He is one of the hardest-working players on tour and it is very unfortunate."