Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon preparations were left drenched and flapping in England’s south coast wind on Tuesday as Eastbourne’s Aegon International was scrapped for the day with no matches completed due to rain.
The Serb world No. 4 accepted a late wild card into the ATP 250 grass-court event, desperate to fine-tune his erratic form, but completed just one game against Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil before the rain set in.
While fans sought cover and raised umbrellas, organizers pushed back the resumption of play several times before finally accepting the British summer weather had got the better of them at about 6pm.
Photo: AFP
The tournament director made yesterday’s start of play half an hour earlier at 10:30am, with a backlog building.
Taiwan’s Chan sisters were listed to play their first-round doubles matches today, with Chan Hao-ching and partner Monica Niculescu to play Timea Babos and Andrea Hlavackova, while Chan Yung-jan and Martina Hingis face Lauren Davis and Alison Riske.
In Turkey, Dominic Thiem’s Wimbledon preparations were hit as he suffered a shock 6-3, 6-2 defeat to India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan in the second round at the Antalya Open.
Thiem, who reached the French Open semi-finals earlier this month, was beaten in just under an hour by Ramanathan, the world No. 222, who hit 10 aces to the Austrian’s four.
The world No. 8 saved three break points in the second set, but struggled to land his first serve as Ramanathan secured a cherished ATP Tour victory.
“I worked really hard for this,” said the 22-year-old Indian, who faces Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in the quarter-finals.
“I like the grass. Courts are fast. I took my chances and it worked out,” he said.
Wimbledon is to begin on Monday next week.
Elsewhere, John McEnroe proposed a competition between men and women players to prove his claim that 23-time Grand Slam singles winner Serena Williams would be ranked “like, 700 in the world” if she competed on the men’s circuit.
Three-time Wimbledon champion McEnroe said Williams was “the best female player ever,” but said her performance on the men’s circuit would be an “entirely different story.”
Williams responded on Twitter, asking the 58-year-old to leave her out of his statements, and called for respect and privacy as she takes time off to have her first child.
“I felt the need, however unfortunately, to defend myself and say what I really felt, which is about what I think she would be [in the men’s rankings],” McEnroe told CBS TV show This Morning on Tuesday. “I’ve got a solution. Solve the problem — and I’m sure the men would be all for this — the men and women play together and then we don’t have to guess.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
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