Players call for improvements to ‘slippery’ court conditions

With a week still to go, Wimbledon’s grass courts aren’t the lush lawns players — and TV viewers — are accustomed to seeing early in the tournament.

Novak Djokovic noticed the ball bouncing differently in some patches.

Roger Federer and his opponent slipped during their third-round match.

The two past champions are wondering what can be done on Sunday, when there is no competition, to improve court conditions when action resumes Monday.

“The first two matches I didn’t see any significant difference. But I was hearing a lot of comments from the other players. They were complaining,” Djokovic said after beating Ernests Gulbis on Saturday.

“Today, I could see there is a difference in grass, in (the) turf itself. It was a bit softer, I would say, especially around a couple of feet inside and outside, around the baseline area,” said Djokovic, a three-time champion at the All England Club. “I haven’t had that kind of experience before in Wimbledon, to be honest. I mean, the courts are always perfect here.”

Federer followed Djokovic on Centre Court and described it as “a tad slippery” after losing his footing during one point in a victory over Mischa Zverev, who also took a tumble.

“But I didn’t feel like it was unsafe,” said Federer.

Some players voiced concerns about the court conditions over the opening week, including Kristina Mladenovic of France and Alison Riske of the United States, who each fell during their second-round match on Court 18 on Thursday.

Riske, who won the match, said afterward that the dirt “is like ice.”