Cilic Questions Wimbledon Schedule After Defeat: Too Early?

Marin Cilic Questions Wimbledon Scheduling After Defeat

The tennis player Marin Cilic expressed his dissatisfaction with the Wimbledon tournament schedule after his defeat against Flavio Cobolli in the fourth round. The match, scheduled for 11 a.m. local time, generated criticism from the Croatian player. Cilic, 36 years old, pointed out that he had to warm up indoors because the Wimbledon practice courts don’t open until 9:30 a.m. In addition, he mentioned that court number 2, where the match was played, was still soft after the previous night’s rain. The matches on the outside courts at Wimbledon usually start at 11 a.m. throughout the tournament, while the matches on Centre Court and No. 1 Court start at least two hours later.

I don’t like to talk about the conditions. It’s okay, I lost and all. I have to accept it. But I feel bitter because why is it necessary to play at 11?

Marin Cilic

The match between Cobolli and Cilic was the only one of the eight singles matches on Monday that had such an early start time. Liudmila Samsonova’s match against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro followed Cobolli and Cilic’s on court number 2, while the other six matches were played on Center Court and Court No. 1. Cilic explained that the court was soft due to the rain, which made the game difficult. He lost the match with scores of 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3). Despite the defeat, this Wimbledon represented a step forward for Cilic, US Open champion in 2014 and runner-up at the All-England Club in 2017. Cilic is returning to high-level tennis after undergoing two knee surgeries and participating in Challenger Tour events to improve his ranking. He had to overcome qualifying rounds to enter the main draw of the French Open, where he lost in the first round.

I have great encouragement, happiness, positive attitude and positive results from the tournament. I found a great form, I played fantastic tennis. Even today it was quite close.

Marin Cilic