Chaos struck Court 1 late Monday night at Wimbledon as organisers abruptly halted the first-round clash between No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard after four sets, postponing the decider to Tuesday. The match was paused as officials believed it wouldn't conclude before the tournament's 11 p.m. curfew.
Fritz, who scripted a hard-fought comeback in the match after going down in the first two sets, was left visibly fuming at the officials when they came to discuss with both players as the 11 p.m. curfew approached. The American, fresh off his title wins in the Boss Open and Eastbourne, and who is among the favourites to make the semifinals in London, came back from 1-5 down in the fourth set tie-breaker, winning seven of the next eight points to force a deciding fifth, after which the decision was made to halt the match.
The chair umpire announced to the crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen, due to the late time of the day, we will not be able to finish the match. Therefore, the match will be suspended until tomorrow. Play is suspended." The Court 1 crowd too did not appreciate the call as boos rang out.
According to the agreement with the local Merton Council, play at the All England Club must stop at 11 p.m. every night. But what left Fritz and the crowd frustrated was that when the organisers halted the match on Monday, there were still 40 minutes left on the clock.
{{/usCountry}}According to the agreement with the local Merton Council, play at the All England Club must stop at 11 p.m. every night. But what left Fritz and the crowd frustrated was that when the organisers halted the match on Monday, there were still 40 minutes left on the clock.
{{/usCountry}}Over at Centre Court, Monday's last match also was halted, with No. 3 Alexander Zverev, a three-time major finalist, even at a set apiece against Arthur Rinderknech when they stopped at 10:54 p.m.
After Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev's shocking round-one exit, Fritz was on the verge of being the latest seeded player to suffer an upset on day one of the Championships. Perricard, who hit 33 aces, but never earned a break point, took the initial two sets 7-6 (6), 7-6 (8), before Fritz grabbed the next two 6-4, 7-6 (6).
"Well, if I was Taylor Fritz, I'd want to keep going here, try to keep the momentum. It's just gone 10.15pm, the curfew is at 11. If it's a long set there's a chance they might have to come off at 5-5 potentially. Would you want to do that? That's what they're weighing up," commentator Todd Woodbridge said.
Co-commentator Ronald McIntosh reckoned it was a great opportunity for Perricard to regroup for the final set on Tuesday. He said: "But a big decision about to be made here because as we pointed out in commentary, the momentum very much in favour of Taylor Fritz. I'm sure Mpetshi Perricard would love the opportunity to regroup, refuel, rehydrate, rest and to come back tomorrow for what is effectively a one-set shootout."