ANGRY Novak Djokovic blasted “indecisive” Wimbledon ref Andrew Jarrett after being forced to hang around all night then play a day after all of his title rivals.
Djokovic was fuming when his match with Adrian Mannarino was postponed late on Monday evening because of Rafa Nadal’s epic five-set defeat by Gilles Muller.
And the seething Serb was also unhappy with the state of Centre Court when he finally got to play his fourth round tie against Frenchman Mannarino yesterday.
The three-time Wimbledon winner complained: “We were kept in the dark for two and half hours without knowing what they were going to do.
“The referee’s office was completely indecisive so we were continually warming up and cooling down.
“It was the wrong decision not to play us on Monday night because the last match on Centre Court was done before seven o’clock.
“Having in mind that Centre Court has the roof and lights, we could have played until 11pm.
“I didn’t see any logic in making us wait to go onto Court One after Rafa’s epic match.
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"We went to the referee’s office before eight o’clock and the only excuse we were getting was security reasons.
“They said it would take too long to get the crowd in on Centre Court but I wasn’t happy because I wanted to play.”
Djokovic, who is seeded to meet Andy Murray in Sunday’s final, also fears that Wimbledon’s showpiece court is not up to the job after pointing out a hole in the turf to umpire Carlos Bernardes yesterday.
“Many players have been complaining about the condition of the court,” he claimed.
“I mentioned the hole to the umpire midway through the match and he asked me to show it him after we were finished. His reaction wasn’t great when he saw it.
“It’s not so much a safety issue as a hindrance to play. There is an uneven surface around the hole and if the ball bounces there it’s really a gamble to get to it.”
The 30-year-old Serb has yet to drop a set on the way to today’s quarter-final clash with Tomas Berdych despite nursing a shoulder injury which twice required treatment by the courtside doctor during yesterday’s 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 victory.
And he sees no reason why Wimbledon has to be such a slog after being forced to watch Nadal’s marathon 15-13 fifth set on Monday night.
He said: “I don’t see any reason why Wimbledon doesn’t have a fifth set tie-breaker like all the other Grand Slams.
“Are they keeping it just because Isner and Mahut made history with an 11-hour match here?
“Yes, it’s great drama for the spectators, but for a player to play a five-hour match and then have to come back and perform two days later, it’s not what your body is looking for.”
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