Boris Becker was left baffled by Wimbledon The choice made to halt play during a second-set encounter just as one of the athletes prepared to deliver the decisive service.
Ben Shelton, the American tennis sensation, stood poised to advance into the third round as he held control with sets of 6-2 and 7-5 against Australia's Rinky Hijikata heading into their final set.
Shelton from USA had an opportunity to secure his spot in the next stage when leading Japan-born Australian player Hijikata two sets to none at 6–2 & 7–5 before proceeding onto match point scenarios during daytime session matches played under bright lights illuminating showcourt surfaces rubberized for grip.
The young US professional looked destined towards making deep run upon establishing commanding position through first couplet frames versus trans-Tasman opponent who hails originally outta Osaka but represents Down Under these days competitively speaking within ATP Tour events structure systems hierarchies etcetera ad nauseum...
But the The chair umpire halted play due to poor lighting conditions at 9:29 PM on Thursday night. compelling the players to go back to the All England Club to finish the match on Friday afternoon.
Shelton, whose serve remained unbroken against Hijikata, reacted angrily to the call and needed to be stopped by another tournament official from confronting the chair umpire.
Becker, who has won Wimbledon three times, also expressed criticism of the decision, posting on X: 'Why halt the game when both athletes wish to carry on?'
Ben Shelton was just moments away from serving out the match, having held his serve flawlessly throughout the entire game! No one could make sense of the umpire's call!
Shelton needed only 70 seconds to wrap up the match once play restarted on Friday, with the American securing victory by winning four consecutive points to advance into the third round.
Many fans and analysts slammed the "incredible" choice, though some pointed out that lighting conditions were reportedly too poor on Court Two for Electronic Line Calling to function properly.
Year 2023 sees the hosting of the prestigious Championships, which promise to be an exciting event for all participants and spectators alike. First in 148 years to take place without line judges .
The Wimbledon tournament director, Jamie Baker, later stood by the decision, emphasizing that conditions had turned 'exceptionally dim' by the point at which play was halted.
“Honestly, I can’t recall the precise time offhand,” Baker remarked.
But we've stayed out very late all week since the weather turned nice with clear skies, and last night we went as long as we absolutely could.
‘If one of the players had said to us that they were uncomfortable kind of 20-25 minutes before, we would we would have stopped the match. And ultimately we did as much as we possibly could.
With the score at 5-4, we reached a stage where, essentially, the officiating crew overseeing the match looked around and thought, 'Well, considering this is the most prestigious tennis event in the world, we’ve gone about as far as we felt was acceptable.'
'It was nearly pitch black. Players shouldn’t be expected to play in total darkness.'
In the upcoming round, Shelton will take on Marton Fucsovics, who advanced after overcoming fan-favorite Gael Monfils from France in a hard-fought five-set match spanning two days.
The 22-year-old aims to make it into the second week of Wimbledon for the very first time after making a strong showing earlier this year with his run to the semifinals at the Australian Open.
In his post-match court-side interview, Shelton remarked: “I felt like it was an excellent game overall, and I believe Rinky performed very strongly.”
My shooting was really sharp last night, and the energy from the audience was amazing. Not sure how many of you were there, but thank you all for sticking around late and then returning—it means a lot.
‘For me, very different playing over two days, coming out for what was it, 55 seconds today! I was hoping to maybe hit a few groundstrokes today!
I guess I'll just head over to the practice courts then. All things considered, I'm absolutely thrilled to have made it to the third round at Wimbledon.
Regarding the contentious suspension, Shelton commented: 'It's simply one of those events where you have to adapt quickly, learn to deal with interruptions, restart play, and warm up as needed.'
I'm sorry you all didn't get to watch too much tennis—no long rallies—but I hope for the remaining matches later today and definitely mine tomorrow, everyone gets to enjoy some better play.
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