Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Tennis, Fan Reactions, Wimbledon
Marcus Chan
Tennis fans watching Wimbledon have called on the tournament to make a major rule change after a match was suspended.
On Monday, the first day of Wimbledon got underway at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
The likes of Katie Boulter, Cameron Norrie, Emma Raducanu, Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz were all in action as they bid to win the third Grand Slam of the season.
There was controversy towards the end of the day, during Taylor Fritz's match against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, which was taking place on Court 1.
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Having gone two sets down, the American produced a spirited comeback to make it 2-2.
However, with more than 40 minutes to go until the 11pm curfew, the match was suspended and will resume on Tuesday.
At the time, Fritz was visibly frustrated as he wanted to carry on playing, the fifth seed was seen joining in the booing along with the crowd.
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Taking to social media, tennis journalist Jose Morgado wrote: "What? Play suspended on court 1 before 5th set at 10.18pm, 40 minutes before curfew.
"There was a good chance they could finish this set in 40 minutes. Nonsense tbh. Fritz is furious. Crowd too. And rightly so."
Reacting in the comments, one fan said: "Absolutely ridiculous."
Another tweeted: "Why is there a curfew at Wimbledon?"
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A third fan added: "This curfew needs binning, 40 mins is more than enough for another set, especially a decider."
Someone else wrote: "Been saying for years, why not apply for a midnight curfew for just these 2 weeks. And the 1pm/1.30pm starts are ridiculous."
A fifth commented: "The only slam in the world with a curfew, get rid of it."
However, despite the Fritz vs Mpetshi Perricard match being suspended, Alexander Zverev's clash with Alexandre Muller on Centre Court was able to continue until nearly 11pm.
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Back in 2009, a curfew was brought in by Merton Council after it was included in the planning permission for the Centre Court roof, meaning the day's action will have to be stopped by the time the clock hits 11pm.
In 2018, a statement from Wimbledon explained the curfew, it read: "The 11pm curfew is a Planning Condition applied to balance the consideration of the local residents with the scale of an international tennis event that takes place in a residential area.
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"The challenge of transport connectivity and getting visitors home safely is also a key consideration."
Fritz vs Mpetshi Perricard will continue on Tuesday afternoon, following the conclusion of Jannik Sinner vs Luca Nardi.
The Wimbledon ballot may have closed for another year, but it’s not too late to buy advance tickets if you know where to look.
If you don’t mind splashing out on the experience, Seat Unique has the option to book ‘VIP Debenture Behind The Server’ and ‘VIP Debenture Front 5 Rows’ tickets.
These tickets offer 'unparalleled views' of the court, so you won't miss out on any of the action.
As for resale tickets, you'll want to head over to StubHub and Viagogo.