An outraged Arnaud Clement blasted the Wimbledon organisers for forcing a battered Nicolas Mahut to play doubles with him just three hours after the end of the world's longest-ever match.
A furious Clement branded the All England Club schedulers "idiots" and said what they had done to his fellow Frenchman was "absolutely shameful" given that he could hardly even stand up straight after his extraordinary record-breaker.
Tennis hero Mahut was ordered to play a men's doubles first round game on Thursday - just three hours after he completed his 11-hour, five-minute epic singles contest with America's John Isner. "What they have done is absolutely shameful," Clement told reporters.
"To send him out on court when he could hardly stand up, that shocked me and everyone else in the locker room," Clement said. "I don't understand how they have staged this match when there was a danger to his health. It's mind-blowing, I'm still really angry."
Clement and Mahut started their men's doubles first round game against Britain's Colin Fleming and Kenneth Skupski on Thursday evening, just three hours after Mahut lost the final set to American Isner 70-68. Only one set could be completed before bad light stopped play. The match was postponed on Friday due to a late finish in the preceding contest scheduled on Court 18.
{{/usCountry}}Clement and Mahut started their men's doubles first round game against Britain's Colin Fleming and Kenneth Skupski on Thursday evening, just three hours after Mahut lost the final set to American Isner 70-68. Only one set could be completed before bad light stopped play. The match was postponed on Friday due to a late finish in the preceding contest scheduled on Court 18.
{{/usCountry}}They are scheduled to resume again as the first match Saturday on Court 14. "I don't know if I've ever seen anything as shameful on the tour and I've been around a long time," Clement said. "I hope it was not because we were up against a British pairing but I can't be sure."